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PHOTOS: Guerrilla Art Project Captures Japan’s Northeast in Portraits · Global Voices
Mari Wakimoto

In November 2012, a truck departed from the northeast Japanese city of Kesennuma on a journey to Fukushima. Its sides were pasted over with pictures of a giant eye, and at the back of the truck was an opening like a mailbox slot. The truck was equipped with a camera to take people's photos and a large-format printer to print them out.
The truck was part of French artist JR‘s “Inside Out” project, an art concept based on public participation. The artist's project is centered on taking photos of people on the street in different parts of the world and then pasting their portraits on the sides of buildings. The project is a global platform for people to share their untold stories and transform messages of personal identity into works of public art.
Photographs of about 400 people were collected from Japan's northeastern Tohoku region, which still bears the scars of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami which killed nearly 16,000 people and devastated the area. A selection of these photographs were then put on exhibition.
Photo of the truck travelling through the rain on its way to Tohoku.
Two merchants from Kesennuma's fish market
Posters put on display in Kesennuma's shopping district
People check out portraits coming out of the truck.
People gather around the truck and begin mingling
JR's exhibition at the Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, which is located in Tokyo's Shibuya district, started in February, 2013 and runs until June 2, 2013. While JR's Inside Out Project was unfolding in Tohoku, the Watari Museum of Contemporary Art　put out a call for financial support[ja] for the project through Campfire[ja], a Japanese crowd-funding site.This call for support met with a favorable response, reaching the museum's two million yen (about 19,600 United States dollars) goal during the fundraising period.
Campfire is one of Japan's leading crowdfunding sites [ja]. In 2012, it raised [ja] about 92 million yen (about 903,000 US dollars), with one particular project netting a record-setting 5.3 million yen (about 52,000 US dollars). Compare this with well-known US crowdfunding site Kickstarter, which successfully raised one million dollars for 17 different projects and collected pledges totaling about 320 million dollars in 2012.
Despite the relatively small size of Japan crowdfunding market, the fact that Campfire was able to overcome such challenges and reach its goal is telling. The Watari Museum is now working once again with Campfire [ja] to raise funds aimed at nationwide expansion. [Update: The fundraising project was closed by May 10, 2013]
In addition to the Tohoku photo project, the museum is also presenting other “Inside Out” projects by JR in chronological order. There is even an area where people visiting the exhibition, which is called “Could Art Change the World?”, can have their photographs taken. Giving people the chance to have their portraits taken at the museum is a way of getting them involved in the “Inside Out” project.
JR discussed the idea behind the project during an interview with online news publication Blouin Artinfo:
[…] Although I helped with the construction and logistics, it’s important for me that the local people manage the truck, the photo booth, and all the operations themselves. It’s meant to be a project by the Japanese, for the Japanese. […]
On Twitter, user TAKEI Toshifumi (@toshify) discussed his impression of the exhibition in a tweet:
@toshify:「JR展_世界はアートで変わっていく」（ワタリウム美術館、6月2日まで）を観た。
人の顔を大写しにしてストリートに掲示する手法で、社会問題を提起するフランス作家。
顔は私的なものという思い込みがあるが、パブリックな場に引き出されると
強烈なメッセージ性を帯びる。作家の言葉も美しい。
@toshify: I went to see JR's “Could Art Change the World?” exhibition (being held at the Watari Museum until June 2).
JR is a French artist who draws attention to social issues by taking photos of people's faces and then posting them on the street. While there is the belief that a person's face is something private, putting someone's face on display to the public can be used to convey a powerful message. The artist's language is also beautiful.
Pictures of Tohoku area project participants posted on the wall of the Watari Museum.
Reaction to the participation aspect of the project have been varied:
@Hiro183: JR展(13回目位)@ワタリウム美術館。なんでこんなに来るかって？
キャンプファイアーで金銭支援をし、この展示に参加しているから。
ARTは参加して意味がある。 http://instagr.am/p/XCA2IOGhOK/
@Hiro183: Visiting JR's exhibition at the Watari Museum again (this makes it my 13th visit). Why did I come to this kind of event? Because I am participating in the event through my financial contributions to Campfire. Art has a meaning only after we participate in it.
@hiswii: やっぱワタリウムのJR展、行って撮るだけで参加したって言いづらいよなー。
JRに不足する身体性というのはプロジェクト全体で補足すべきことなんだろうね。
@hiswii : I find it hard to say that I actually participated in JR's exhibitionat the Watari Museum just by going there and having my picture taken. JR's lack of embodiment should carry over to the project as a whole.
More images of the Tohoku project are available here. Shots of the exhibition at the Watari Museum can be seen here.

author: Mari Wakimoto


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Ukrainian Blogger’s Bobs 2013 Award Revoked · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukrainian blogger Olena Bilozerska's User Winner prize in the Bobs 2013 Best Blog Ukrainian nomination has been revoked, writes [ru] Mustafa Nayyem, the Ukrainian member of the Bobs 2013 jury, on his Facebook page, linking [ru] to the official statement [uk] posted on the Bobs 2013 website. The scandal (more on it in this GV text) seems far from being over in Ukraine, however, as many netizens are displeased with the decision. Nayyem's Facebook announcement has generated over 150 comments so far, many of them critical of the contest organizers in general and Nayyem in particular. In one of the few English-language comments in that thread, Andreas Umland, a Kyiv-based German political scientist, writes:
Bilozerska has approved of being described as a racist (an “abstinent” though) and reports accordingly in her blog. That is not exactly an advertisement for Ukraine. The attention she and her blog are now receiving because of her “success” does little good for the international reputation of the Ukrainian nation. To be sure: Bilozerska can and should publish her stuff as she likes. But there is no need to give her a prize from a reputed journalistic outlet for that. Apparently, this was a competition for a blogger's popularity. However, it may have actually measured not the breadth of the blogger's reach into the public, but the mobilizational capacity of the blogger's political support group (a bit like the Eurovision contest). Perhaps, this competition needs to be restructured to produce a valid measurement.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Angola Threatens to Shut Down Media · Global Voices
Thiana Biondo

The Ministry of Communication of Angola threatens to suspend the public license of the Radio Despertar station and of the Folha 8 newspaper, despite the measure being unconstitutional. The government says they encourage public disorder. The announcement was made on Wednesday, May 15, as reported the Voz da América [pt] website. Some owners of the Radio have ties with the main opposition party UNITA [en]. In 2012, the police confiscated computers of the Folha 8.

author: Thiana Biondo


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Catalonia: Caution about Spain’s Hostile Ways · Global Voices
Violeta Camarasa

A civic statement on Col·lectiu Emma (@CollectiuEmma)'s blog criticizes the way the Spanish government is dealing with the political situation in the region of Catalonia, where 55 % of the population favors independence [ca] from Spain, according to an official poll. The statement explains the “strategy of fear” and other “hostile” arguments, and claims for “a friendly separation, preferably under international supervision and with external support for both parties.” The post is available in English, Spanish, German, French, Arabic, Russian, Portuguese, Italian and Dutch.

author: Violeta Camarasa


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China: Petition System Reform? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Yueran Zhang from Tea Leaf Nation reviews the Chinese petition system and discusses directions for future reform:
Ongoing reforms should include the enhancement of the institutional powers of bureaus of letters and visits. On the other hand, the citizens flooding the petitioning offices, which are considered a last resort, reveal the ineffectiveness of other channels for hearing complaints and grievances. Enhancement and clarification of the roles of the People’s Congress, NGOs, the arbitration system and the judiciary branch could lessen the burden on the petitioning system.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China’s Kunming Residents Stage Another Chemical Plant Protest · Global Voices
Abby Liu

Hundreds of Kunming residents gathered outside city government buildings on May 16, 2013 to protest against plans for a chemical refinery near the southern Chinese city, the second major demonstration against the project after a protest on May 4.
The China National Petroleum Corporation plans to build a chemical plant in the nearby town of Anning to produce 500,000 tonnes of paraxylene (PX) used to make fabric.
In response to the May 4 protest, local government held a series of meetings and promised that the refinery would not endanger the environment and that the public's opinion would be taken into account. The city's mayor Li Wenrong promised that the PX project would be canceled if the majority of residents are against it.
But officials said the environmental evaluation report of the project remains confidential. At the same time, Chinese microbloggers have reported that the government has tried to stop any future attempts to organize protests and ban any further questioning about the refinery. Employees at state-owned companies and students at schools have been asked to promise that they will not participate in protests and will not discuss the project in public.
Banner reads, “Make the environmental evaluation report public. Against pollution.”  (Image from Sina Weibo)
However, the government's attempt failed to work as skeptical residents organized this latest protest calling for a stop on the project. Pictures of the protest and discussions about the project are updated on popular Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo.
“Maya Tansuozhe” remains skeptical about the government's claim that it won't affect the environment:
云南省环科院高级工程师周东风称，中石油炼油项目对昆明环境污染影响不大 http://t.cn/zTDtGwj －－看到这则新闻忍不住吐槽，你们把滇池管成那样，还如何相信你们？ 影响不大是多大？ 许多环境污染具有不可逆性，到时候后悔都没地儿。一届政府的政绩，100年的治理代价，你负责得了吗？
Senior engineer Zhou Dongfeng from Yunnan Academy of Environmental Sciences said the chemical plant won't have a huge impact on Kunming's environment. After reading the news, I can't help but complain, look at what Dianchi lake is like under your management [pollution is a major problem for the lake nowadays.] How can I believe you again? A lot of environmental pollution is irreversible, it will be too late when you regret it. The performance of the current government will set a precedent for environmental governance in China for the next 100 years, will you be responsible for it?
“Huyan Luanyu” wrote [zh]:
13日，昆明政府就炼油与市民代表召开了表恳谈会，表示要充分听取各界市民对炼油项目的意见建议。可近几天，各院校各单位要求职工学生，不参加不宣传炼油的紧急通知和承诺书却是要民众“沉默”。这样的做法是否会使民众对政府公开信息充分听取市民意见产生怀疑？
On May 13, the Kunming government held an “earnest talk” with the representatives of the public and said public opinions about the refinery project would be taken into consideration. However, in the past few days, the urgent notice sent by schools and companies requesting the employees and students not participate in any protest is meant to ask the public to keep silent. Will the approach make people doubt the government information and their claim of listening to public opinion?
“Shaomai Tuo” from Kunming echoed the same sentiment:
恳谈？一面说充分广纳民意，一面放锦衣卫四处镇压威胁！买口罩印刷宣传品要登记报警；各大企事业单位统统下禁令不许参加游行、不准发表任何意见；违者一律开除。这就是中国式恳谈，啃嗜民主、弹劾民意！
Earnest talk ? On one side, they talk about listening to public opinions, on the other side, they order the police to suppress any threat! Buying masks to print promotional materials has to be registered; major enterprises and institutions all put up the notice to ban any parade or opinion; offenders will be expelled. This is China-style earnest talk, fake democracy, impeachment of public opinion!
“Abu Gougou 911″ wrote [zh]:
没有合理的解释，没有真正的处理态度，民众怎样能够安心
Without any reliable explanation or sincere attitude to solve problems, how can the public feel at ease.
“Lan Qinzi” said [zh]:
据说昆明各部门各事业单位都在要求职工签订保证不去参加16号的散步活动。其实我已经想不出来还有什么比散步这么和平的渠道更好的抗议方式了，不让散步的话，民众还有什么其他的方式让自己的声音被听到吗？
I heard that some departments and institutions in Kunming all request the employees to sign a guarantee not to participate in the march. In fact, I have no idea what is a better form of protest than peaceful marching. If walking is not even allowed, what others ways do people have to make their voices heard?
Director Wang Tingting from Beijing quoted a song from stage musical Les Miserables:
Do you hear the people sing? Singing a song of angry men! It is the music of the people who will not be slaves again! When the beating of your heart, echoes the beating of the drums. There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes!
However, in commentary titled “PX protest, useless” by history professor and columnist Ye Tan from the Chinese version of the Wall Street Journal, she detailed [zh] her belief that the local government won't give up the project, a rare chance to speed up GDP growth despite the protest and the cost to the environment:
笔者尊重当地居民的选择权，佩服公民的抗争意识，但对中国的环保现状表示悲观，在产值、财富与青山绿水之间，地方政府的选择不言而喻。 昆明翠湖，群鸟飞翔，人鸟共乐，是中国大城市中极少看到的温馨景致，再过十年，这样的情景还能看得到吗？
I respect the option of local residents and admire their awareness to protest as citizens, however, I remain pessimistic about the status quo of China's environmental protection. Between output value, wealth, and beautiful mountains and rivers, the choice of the local government is self-evident. Kunming's green lake and birds is rare scenery in China's major cities, after another decade, will we still be able to see such scenery?

author: Abby Liu


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Chinese React to Angelina Jolie’s Mastectomy · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Off Beat China translated Chinese netizens’ reaction to Angelina Jolie's double mastectomy. Comments are mixed, some find the act courageous, some say it is over-reaction.


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Comoros Chats About Identity on Twitter  · Global Voices
Rakotomalala

The hashtags #TesPasComorien and #Teamcomoco are stoking conversation among Comorian Twitter users about what it means to be from the island nation.
Twitter users are adding to the conversation under the first hashtag, #TesPasComorien (You're Not Comorian), which consists of anecdotes that a person must have experienced or observed if they are truly Comorian or have lived in Comoros. The second hashtag, #Teamcomoco, seems to be more general, referring to belonging to the community.
Comoros is an archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar. In addition to many smaller islands, the country consists of the four major islands. One of the islands, Mayotte, continues to be administered by France as an overseas department because it was the only island in the archipelago that voted against independence in 1974.
One of the most popular anecdotes is the photo shared by @ElarifC  on Twitter, which shows sandals typically worn in the Mascareignes region. The caption reads: “Admit it. You know these shoes!”.
Sandales aux Comores via @ElarifC on Twitter CC-BY-2.0
Certain tweets are regularly re-tweeted and seem to implicate people who live in Comoros as well as those in the Diaspora. Some, like the tweet by Nafyza Mentos express pride in being Comorian:
@Nafyzamentos: Être comorienne c plus qu'une fierté , on est les etoiles les plus proche de la lune #teamcomoco
@Nafyzamentos: Being Comorian is more than being proud, we are the closest stars to the moon #teamcomoco
Or this tweet from Monsieur Fossettes which describes a style of communication unique to the country:
@Slackersleeper: Nous nos darons quand il nous insulte il aime bien tirer le ” Bé ” de Imbécile mais avec eux ça donne “MmmhBéééciil” #Teamcomoco on se sait
When our parents tell us off, they love to draw out the “be” in “imbecile”, which makes it sound like “MmmhBéééciil” #Teamcomoco
Tweets on culinary traditions also abound:
@Femme_Nkoulou: #TesPasComorien si ta pas un bocal de confiture mais c'est du poutou a l'interieur! Une boite carte d'or avec du madaba dedans
@Femme_Nkoulou: #TesPasComorien If you don't have a jam jar which really contains poutou (ground rice). Or a carte d'or box with madaba (manioc leaves with coconut milk)  inside.
Aiadio tweets an image of a local dish:
@ShariifaBwow: @inesBwow @sophiaboss_ pilaaahou #teamcomoco pic.twitter.com/bJQHPeiDnD
Music also receives pride of place when it comes to talking about Comoros. In one tweet, Aksdayday pays homage to Comorian rap:
@Aksdayday : Le Comores il gouverne le rap français wallah
@Aksdayday : Comoros runs French hip hop
In another, Nouky Nouk places the number one Comorian Slam artist above them all:
@VELOAnouk: We still got to keep playing the top #slam from #comores #teamcomoco Absoir-Tsi Nyese (ft William's)
via @youtube
Some Comorian Internet users seem not to share the enthusiasm for using these particular hashtags for this particular affirmation of Comorian identity :
@KingComorien: Pourquoi vous voulez encore mettre le #TEsPasComorien en TT #Teamcomoco On la deja mis arreter vos gogourouitance
@KingComorien: Why persist with the #TEsPasComorien hashtag for TT (trending topics)  we already did it with #Teamcomoco – stop with your meaningless chatter
@faissolempire : Si pour être comorien il faut se reconnaitre dans ce # “#TesPasComorien” bah je suis pas comorien alors
@faissolempire : If to be Comorian you have to see yourself in this # “#TesPasComorien” then, oh well, I guess I'm not Comorian
The strong presence of the Comorian community in Marseille, France is reflected in some tweets:
@_Maadine269_ : Ts Comorien et ta paw d'famille à Marseille ??? I M P O S S I B L E #teamComoco
@_Maadine269_ : You're Comorian and you don't have family in Marseille??? I M P O S S I B L E #teamComoco
@Ha_biiba : #TesPasComorien Si ta jamais participer au Djaliko Géant à Marseille (si t'es pas de Marseille t'es pardonner mais le reste nan) #TeamComoco
@Ha_biiba : #TesPasComorien If you've never taken part in the Djaliko Géant in Marseille (if you're not from Marseille then you're forgiven but the rest of you, no way) #TeamComoco
Less positive tweets remind of the harsh realities of life in Comoros.
@Comores_Actus : Quand ceux qui ont dépouillé les Comores , font la morale aux universitaires Comoriens , pauvre pays !: Quand ce… http://bit.ly/YXfpSV
@Comores_Actus : When the same people that stripped Comoros bare, want to lecture Comorian universities, poor country!: When the … http://bit.ly/YXfpSV

author: Rakotomalala


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Latin American Congress of Living Cultures  · Global Voices
Pablo Andres Rivero

Rituals, reflections, poetic “assaults”… From May 17 to 23, 2013, the first Latin American Congress of Community Living Cultures [es] will invade the streets of La Paz, Bolivia. The city will host government representatives from Brazil and Colombia, along with more than one thousand activists.
Besides debates, seminars, film screenings, workshops and poetic “interventions” around the city, authorities and delegates from cultural organizations in Latin America will discuss and exchange experiences. They will also request regional governments to designate at at least 0.1% of national budgets to fund Community Living Culture initiatives.
The full programme is available on the Congress website www.congresoculturavivacomunitaria.org [es] [pt].

author: Pablo Andres Rivero


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Hong Kong: ‘Drink Less to Get Raped Less’ · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Hong Wrong rounded up Hong Kong citizens’ responses to the city's security chief's comment on the soaring of rape cases. The police head, Lai Tung-Kwok, told women to cut down on drinking in a press conference.


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In Wake of Brutal Murder, Questions About the Roots of Russian Homophobia · Global Voices
Andrey Tselikov

Over the past year RuNet Echo has covered the woes of the Russian LGBT community [GV], specifically with regard to laws banning so-called “propaganda of homosexuality,” passed first by the city of St. Petersburg [GV] and now being championed in the Russian parliament [GV] by MPs Sergey Dorofeev and Elena Mizulina (the proposed bill is currently in its second “reading,” or amendment process).
It is unsurprising that this intolerant climate and increasingly hateful rhetoric would finally give rise to actual hate crimes. This is precisely the connection that many Russian bloggers made after learning that the three Volgograd men who were arrested for brutally murdering their drinking companion, the 23 year old Vladislav Tornovoi, on the night following the May 9th Victory Day celebrations, apparently admitted that they did so because he told them he was gay. Boris Vishnevsky blogged [ru] on the Echo Moskvy website:
Убийц, хочется верить, накажут. А кто накажет их идейных вдохновителей? Который уже год абсолютно безнаказанно разжигающих в обществе (в том числе, с использованием парламентской трибуны) вражду и ненависть по признакам сексуальной ориентации? Принимающих безумные законы о запрете «пропаганды гомосексуализма»?
I want to believe that the killers will be punished. But who will punish the ideological instigators? [Those who] for many years have, with impunity, (and with the use of a parliamentary pulpit) spread hate and enmity based on sexual orientation? [Those who] adopt insane laws banning “propaganda of homosexuality?”
One of Tornovoi's murderers (on right) describes to the police how exactly he committed the crime. YouTube screenshot, May 17, 2013.
The homophobic motives for the murder are seemingly supported by the fact that after brutally beating Tornovoi the men undressed him and forced empty beer bottles into his rectum, leading the journalist Alexander Timofeevsky to comment [ru] on his Facebook account:
Интересно, понимают ли депутаты Госдумы, шумно, с пиаром моральной позициии принимающие сейчас закон против пропаганды гомосексуализма, что эти пивные бутылки – “две вошли полностью, а третья лишь частично” – подброшены, в сущности, ими?
I wonder, do the State Duma deputies, who while noisily advertising their moral position are right now passing a law banning the propaganda of homosexuality, understand that these beer bottles – “two entered fully, and the third partially” – were basically given [to the murderers] by them?
Others blamed the murder not on Russia's homophobic parliamentarians, but simply on the homophobia endemic to Russian society, according to one theory mainly as the result of a large former inmate population and the associated stigma of homosexuality. DemVybor's Deputy Chairman and prolific blogger Kirill Shulika wrote [ru]:
Гомофобия? Может быть, но только связана она с тем, что собутыльники этого гея сидели. В России вообще гомофобия связана с тем, что полстраны сидело или знает тех, кто сидел. […] Гомофобия Мизулиной и Милонова имеет совсем другую цель. Она рассчитана как раз на активистов протестного движения […] с целью отвлечения их внимания от реальных проблем.
Homophobia? Maybe, but it is tied to the fact that the drinking buddies of this gay person were former inmates. In general, in Russia homophobia is tied to the fact that half the country has done time or knows someone who's done time. […] Mizulina and [St. Petersburg deputy and champion of the original bans on propaganda of homosexuality] Milonov's homophobia has a completely different goal. It is geared towards activists of the protest movement with the goal of distracting them from real problems.
A similar point was made by journalist Andrey Gromov [ru], and publicist Pavel Sviatenkov [ru], who also blamed prison culture where homosexuality is widely practiced, and yet homosexuals are considered to be a lower caste. Because such conduct is often part of power relations in prison society, Sviatenkov says:
С точки зрения блатной философии, позорно быть пассивным гомосексуалистом, «петухом». Зато активный гомосексуалист воспринимается как «настоящий пасан».
From the point of view of criminal philosophy its is shameful to be a passive homosexual, a “rooster.” But an active homosexual is considered a “real man.”
Vladislav Tornovoi's VKontakte photograph.
The question of what constitutes homosexuality was at the forefront of reporting on Tornovoi's death, especially after bloggers found his VKontakte page [ru]. Tornovoi appears to be a fairly regular guy, and a fan of the popular rap group Kasta, which led Anton Krasovsky, a TV personality who recently came out on television and was summarily dismissed from his position, to note that he was a “common gopnik” [in modern Russian the term gopnik [ru], the etymology of which is contested, is closest to the British chav in meaning]. Tornovoi's friends were also quick to jump to his “defense” [ru] on YouTube, claiming that they “didn't notice” anything homosexual [ru] about him. In an article [ru] published several days after the murder in the Echo Moskvy affiliated online newspaper Publicpost, these friends claimed that because Tornovoi “liked girls” and because he never had an erection while visiting the public baths with them, he simply could not be gay.
These claims were picked up on by nationalist/conservative blogger Natalia Kholmogorova, who insinuated [ru] that it was the murderers who were gay:
Несколько мужчин набрасываются на одного, имитируют извращенный половой акт с ним, совершают садистские манипуляции с его половыми органами (пардон за подробности), затем убивают. […] Это не “гомофобы поймали и замучили бедного гея” – это группа садистов совершила над своей жертвой гомосексуальное насилие.
Several men attack one, imitate a perverse sexual act with him, sadistically manipulate his sexual organs (sorry for the details), then kill him.  […] This isn't “homophobes caught and tortured a poor gay” – it's a group of sadists who perpetrated homosexual violence on their victim.
Regardless of such loopy, homophobic opinions, if Tornovoi was not actually gay, then his murderers had to have made up the fact that he told them that he was. This worries Alexander Timofeevsky, because it might mean that Russian homophobia is even worse than we thought:
Это обозначает, что, на их взгляд, гомосексуальность жертвы является смягчающм, если не извиняющим, мотивом. Типа, пидаров убивать сам Бог велел. Вот и депутат Елена Мизулина, важная женщина из Москвы, по телевизору говорит, что им нет оправдания.
This means that they think that homosexuality of a victim is a mitigating, if not exonerating, motive. As in, killing fags is the natural order of things. Look at deputy Elena Mizulina, an important woman from Moscow, who says on TV that their [the homosexuals’] behavior can't be excused.

author: Andrey Tselikov


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Jorge Videla, Argentina’s Ex-Military Leader, Dies in Jail  · Global Voices
Laura Schneider

Jorge Rafael Videla, Argentina's former president, died on May 17, 2013, at the age of 87 in a jail cell where he was imprisoned.
Videla ruled between 1976 and 1981, during Argentina's military dictatorship, a period marked by death that left thousands of people missing [es].
In 1983 the former dictator was judged and condemned to life-prison for crimes against humanity. In 2010 Videla was sentenced [es] to life in prison for the torture and shooting of 31 political prisoners, and in 2012 he was sentenced to another 50 years in jail for the kidnapping [es] of newborns during the dictatorship.
An obituary [es] by BBC World says: “He was one of the most controversial and hated men in Argentina, under his regime close to 30,000 people died or disappeared according to human rights organizations.”
Jose Alejandro Godoy of website Desde el Tercer Piso (From the Third Floor) wrote [es] about the events that took place during the years Videla ruled Argentina:
Secuestro sistemático de menores de edad, torturas, uso del mundial de fútbol para fines de propaganda (a pocas cuadras de los estadios donde se jugaba, había centros de tortura), un ajuste económico mal aplicado, exilio de cientos de argentinos, cierre de sindicatos. El penoso legado de una dictadura que se inició con él y que se liquidó el día que algún alucinado militar argentino pretendió que hacer una guerra en las Malvinas sería la mejor forma de prolongar la estancia castrense en el poder.
Systematic kidnapping of underage kids, tortures, use of the football world cup for propaganda (a few blocks away from the stadiums, there were torture centers), a badly executed economic adjustment, hundreds of Argentineans in exile, closing of unions. The shameful legacy of a dictatorship that started with him and ended the day that some hallucinated Argentinean officer thought that starting a war in the Falklands was the best way to extend military rule.
And regarding Videla's death, he concluded:
Hoy Videla murió en una cárcel común sin privilegios. Condenado a cadena perpetua. Será enterrado en una tumba, a diferencia de muchas de sus víctimas, arrojadas al mar desde un avión. Repudiado por la sociedad argentina. Con un juicio histórico que lo remite a las páginas más infames de América Latina.
Today, Videla died in a common jail without benefits. Convicted to life-sentece. He will be buried in a tomb unlike many of his victims who were thrown to the sea from an airplane. Disowned by the Argentinean society. He was judged in a historic trial that puts him in the darkest pages of Latin America.
On the other hand, LSO wrote a small entry in his blog [es] where he refers to Videla as a “dignified official and soldier who […] fulfilled a mission that granted him honor.”
Military torture center, today turned into the Memory Museum – City of Rosario. Picture by: Laura Schneider
Under the hashtag #MurioVidela [Videla Died] thousands of Argentineans have reacted to the news, like user @Cami-cotarelo [es]:
@Cami_Cotarelo: No se festeja que #MurioVidela, pero hoy despues de casi 40 años descansan en paz mas de 30.000 personas
@Cami_Cotarelo: There's no celebration for #MurioVidela, but today after almost 40 years more than 30,000 people rest in peace
Cecilia Saia (@Cecisaia) [es] also expressed the feelings shared by many Argentineans:
@Cecisaia: Hoy hay un monstruo menos en el mundo. Si hay algo después de la muerte, que le vuelva por mil todo lo que hizo #muriovidela
@Cecisaia:: Today there's one less monster in the world. If there's something after death, may it give him back all he did a thousand times #muriovidela
Nobel Peace laureate Adolfo Perez Esquivel (@PrensaPEsquivel) [es] wrote on his Twitter account:
@PrensaPEsquivel: #MurióVidela, un hombre que ha hecho mucho daño al país y a la humanidad. No se ha cerrado un ciclo, hay [que] buscar más #verdad y #justicia.
@PrensaPEsquivel: #MurióVidela, a man that has hurt the country and humanity deeply. A cycle hasn't closed; we need to find more #verdad (truth) and #justicia (justicia).
Infobae published a Storify post [es] with more reaction on Twitter.

author: Laura Schneider


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VIDEO: South Korean LGBT Protest · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

A South Korean LGBT rights group, Rainbow Action, staged a protest at Seoul Plaza on May 17, 2013, calling on the government to pass the anti-discrimination law. A video of the protest was posted on the Youtube.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Australia Excuses Itself from Refugee Law · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

On 17 May 2013 Australian blogger and self-styled ‘global nomad’ More Atlitude posted a lengthy and detailed post in response to “Australia’s decision yesterday to excise its mainland from the migration zone” this week. He argues that it
essentially reinforces a horrible, horrible policy of enforced detention for legal (I stress, again and again and again, people, LEGAL, good grief do I need to paint it neon and string it with lights?) asylum-seekers.

author: Kevin Rennie


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Bolivia’s Evo Morales Approved for Re-Election Bid · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Amid a strike by workers seeking better pensions, Bolivian lawmakers approved legislation that allows President Evo Morales and his Vice-President Álvaro García Linera to seek another term in the December 2014 elections.
The country's Constitutional Tribunal (TCP for its initials in Spanish) had cleared the way for Morales’ re-election at the end of April 2013, when it declared [es] that four of the six articles in the law -including the article that allows for Morales’ and Linera's re-election- are constitutional. As Emily Achtenberg explained in the NACLA blog Rebel Currents,
The court ruled that Morales could seek a third consecutive term, even though the 2009 Constitution allows only two, on the grounds that his first election (in 2004) took place under a previous constitution. The ruling dismissed a clause in the new Constitution stating that any prior mandate must be taken into account in computing the allowable term. This transitional provision, the court reasoned, does not apply to Morales because his original mandate did not carry over into the new Constitution (instead, Morales cut his first term short by one year and was re-elected in 2009 under the new Constitutional regime).
Emily also pointed out that critics say the President “should have sought a Constitutional amendment before running for a third term.”
President Evo Morales taking office in La Paz on January 22, 2010. Photo shared on Flickr by Presidencia de la República del Ecuador (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
While Morales’ supporters celebrated the court's decision, others, like Bolivian bloggers Andrés Gómez Vela [es] and Eduardo Bowles [es], criticized it. Andrés said that the court's judges have failed the test in this key issue, while Eduardo wrote that from a legal point of view the decision to accept a third presidential bid is one of the biggest setbacks in the process of the country's democratic constitution. Furthermore, Eduardo warned that the decision could trigger a new period of instability.
Emily in Rebel Currents added,
Based on current polls, which give Morales 60% support in the departmental capitals and 76% in rural areas, a referendum in favor of a constitutional amendment would likely have prevailed. In avoiding the constitutional route, critics argue, Morales deceived not only the then-political opposition, but the Bolivian people, who voted to support the consensus Constitution, including its term limits compromises, by a margin of 61%.
For the upcoming election, Morales has publicly announced that he hopes to achieve an ambitious mandate of 74%, topping his previous votes of 54% in 2005 and 64% in 2009.
However, Bloggings by boz argued that despite his popularity Morales shouldn't run:
Should he run? Probably not. Mistakes or simply bad economic luck in his third term will tarnish his legacy and harm the changes he has already made. Additionally, in running for this third term, Morales is making the same mistakes as Hugo Chavez. He is relying on his personal leadership instead of building up institutions and other ideologically-similar leaders to carry on his work. Any movement or country dependent on a single individual lacks resiliency.
Bolivians will go to the polls to elect a new president in December 2014. In the meantime, netizens are worried about the escalating tension caused by the current strikes and protests, a conflict that could affect President Morales’ chances of winning his third presidential election.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Conference for Women Writers of African Ancestry · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Yari Yari Ntoaso is an international conference on literature by women of African ancestry. You can follow in on Twitter using #YariYari hashtag or on Kinna Reads blog.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Indochina Art Project · Global Voices
Kounila Keo

Participants of the ‘Indochina Project’ are asked to submit artworks that answer this question: “What does Indochina mean to you?”
An art project about Indochina to get submissions from people who live in the Southeast Asian region. Participants are encouraged to submit their answer in the most creative way possible. KhmerBird believes this is a good opportunity to promote Cambodian art.

author: Kounila Keo


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Is Saint Lucia’s Jazz Festival Worth the Investment?  · Global Voices
Matthew Hunte

The end of this year's Saint Lucia Jazz and Arts Festival, especially in the context of the country's ongoing budget debates, has led many netizens to wonder about the economic impact of the event.
In the Facebook group St. Lucians Aiming for Progress (S.L.A.P), Wilson Baptiste held out no hope that the festival would ever turn a profit:
Should the St. Lucia Jazz be classified as a social program like STEP, NICE, SMILE, HOPE? As a result, this will remove the expectations of generating a surplus for the island's tourism industry.
Mainstage, Sunday; photo courtesy Lucian Jazz.com, used with permission.
Iain Sandy felt that managing the festival had its own benefits apart from creating revenue:
On a serious note, the execution of a Jazz Festival with all its moving parts, its external components and the risk of experimenting with the festival, was no easy feat. We must understand that we are still a young nation and have not had exposure and experience in many areas. As a result, we will make errors and we will go over budgets in executing these events. Therefore, with this backdrop, we should all commend the Jazzereras for an outstanding Jazz 2013.
Moko Jumbies; photo courtesy Lucian Jazz.com, used with permission.
Commendations aside, Anderson Queto wondered how profitable the festival actually was:
Hey…does anyone know if we made back the $8M spent for Jazz?
Kimani Goddard responded:
The Jazz Festival is an event held to create a multiplier effect in the economy that would not otherwise not be there at this time of year. It creates business opportunities in several sectors of the economy that go beyond what government spends in terms of social and economic impact. Breaking even in terms of gov't expenditure plus the multiplier effect I mentioned before should be considered successful.
Leigh Allan suggested that more could be done to spread the benefits of the festival:
Does Jazz have to make a profit, break even or make a loss? I think jazz when it was created way back when was designed to fill up hotel rooms with tourists that would spend in and around jazz events. I'd be happy if more locals got a piece of the pie and opportunities to profit and participate in the events. This season was great mostly because it allowed more communities to benefit at the actual events than ever before. Hopefully in the future Jazz events will be held in even more communities and include even more locals.
R. Kelly; photo courtesy LucianJazz.com, used with permission.
The Jacksons; photo courtesy Three Media, used with permission.

author: Matthew Hunte


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Jamaica: Blogging about Police Brutality  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

To mark the tragic anniversary of the Tivoli incursion and the lives that were lost there, Jamaican bloggers are uniting to draw attention to the scourge of extra-judicial killings in Jamaica and a police force seemingly out of control and beyond restraint.
Active Voice is gearing up to comment on police brutality for Blog Action Day next week.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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KFC Deliveries Smuggled into Palestine Through Secret Tunnels · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Palestinian Anas Hamra, from Gaza, claims he got his Kentucky Fried Chicken delivered – after a seven hour wait. His story tallies with a recent New York Times report which says that Gazans are getting their KFC deliveries, from Al Arish, in Egypt, where they are smuggled through secret tunnels.
After ordering his meal, he jokes [ar]:
راحت علينا الكنتاكي الحكومة صادرت وجبتي يفضح عرظها
@AnsRed: We have lost our Kentucky meal. The government has confiscated it, may it [the government] be scandalised
He then adds:
تم الإفراج حسب الإتصال عن 100 وجبة كنتاكي من لجنة الأنفاق التابعة لحكومة حماس الان وجبتي قادمة تباً خوفتيني عليكي يا وجبة!
@AnsRed: I was told on the phone that 100 Kentucky meals have been released by the tunnels committee run by the Hamas government now and that my meal is arriving. I have been worried about my meal.
Anas Hamra, from Gaza, claims he got his KFC after a seven hour wait
And he continues:
@AnsRed: am still WAITEN, actually am gonna have it as my breakfast for the next day! Sigh!!
When he finally gets his meal, Hamra shares its picture on both tumblr and Instagram.
On Instagram, many question whether his post was for real and Hamra confirms that he has indeed ordered a family size KFC meal. His assessment of the meal?
like an Egyptian KFC lol but cold
Mohammed Hassona, from Gaza, tweets [ar]:
أكل الكنتاكي علينا حق #غزة
@impalestinian: Eating Kentucky is our right #Gaza
And Michael Heaton quips:
@MichaelHeathon5: Kentucky Fried Chicken in Gaza? Havent those people suffered enough?
However, the Facebook page of the enterprise which runs the delievery service has since announced the discontinuation of the deliveries:
زبائننا الاعزاء : تم ايقاف طلبيات الكنتاكي وذلك لظروف خارجة عن ارادتنا… شكرا لاهتمامكم جميعا بهذا الموضوع
Dear customers,
The Kentucky deliveries have been stopped due to reasons beyond our control. Thank you all for your interest in this topic
At least Hamra got his KFC treat and tweeted and Instagramed the experience.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Tinker, Tailor, Compass, Wig: Russia’s Amusing American Spy Scandal · Global Voices
Daniel Alan Kennedy

The Cold War may have ended over twenty years ago, but it's an open secret that the US and Russia continue to spy on each other. The uncovering of a Russian spy-ring three years ago in America demonstrated that for the SVR (Russia's CIA equivalent), old habits die hard. This week showed that the same holds true for the CIA, when on Tuesday 14 May 2013, the FSB (Russia's internal security service) announced they had arrested Ryan Christopher Fogle, third secretary at the US embassy in Moscow for attempting to recruit Russian citizens as spies. Fogle had allegedly written letters and placed telephone calls to potential agents offering them up to one million dollars for their services. The US State Department declined to publicly comment on which government agency Fogle works for or on the allegations of spying.
Fogle's arrest was filmed by the FSB and shown on Russian television. In the video [ru], Fogle is seen in an unconvincing blond wig and baseball cap, which are then removed by an FSB agent before Fogle is frogmarched into a waiting car. Fogle's “spy-kit” (which included two wigs, sunglasses, a compass, a cheap Nokia phone, an Atlas of Moscow, a Swiss army knife and several envelopes of 500-euro notes) is then displayed for the cameras. Later in the video, Fogle and what appear to be three of his colleagues from the Embassy are given a dressing-down by a pixilated FSB agent. In a manner strangely reminiscent of a school headmaster scolding wayward students, the agent expresses his shock and disappointment at Fogle's attempts to recruit Russian citizens, in light of the recent close cooperation of Russia with American intelligence agencies in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings.
The story catapulted the murky world of counterintelligence into the spotlight of the Russian blogosphere, where the details of the case were dissected with glee. From the start many were somewhat perplexed at Fogle's spy-kit, which seemed to come straight from an early James Bond novel.
User Best_JS [ru] quipped
Парики,черные очки и особенно–компас в Москве.Не хватает только секстанта и астролябии.ЦРУ оснащает своих агентов в магазине 99 центов?
Wigs, sunglasses and especially — a compass in Moscow. He's only missing a sextant and astrolabe. Is the CIA equipping their agents at the 99 cent store?
Tweeter user Timque [ru] also took a dim view of Fogle's spycraft.
Если наша контрразведка способна ловить только шпионов с чуть ли не надписью «ШПИОН» на лбу. То из меня бы вышел отличный агент ЦРУ!
If our counterintelligence is only capable of catching spies with the word “SPY” practically written on their forheads, then I could make an excellent CIA agent!
Fogle's alleged spy-kit generated interest for it's “low-tech” nature. YouTube Screenshot. May 17, 2013.
Somewhat surprisingly, a much more charitable appraisal [ru] of Fogle's equipment came from popular Russian tech blogger Eldar Murtazin [ru], who pointed out the pitfalls of using advanced gadgets in the world of espionage.
Начнем с самого противоречивого предмета в глазах обывателей — обычного атласа Москвы и дорог с указанием каждого дома. В век высоких технологий, когда у каждого в телефоне есть навигация и хорошие карты, это выглядит анахронизмом. А теперь давайте представим специфику работы агента, когда он не должен оставлять следов, в том числе и цифровых. Я плохо представляю себе агента, который прокладывает путь к тайнику или месту встречу в Google Maps и затем сохраняет маршрут. Этот агент должен быть конченным идиотом. Равно, как мне сложно представить как сообщить о месте встречи в электронном виде, это дополнительный риск […] Поэтому можно долго ворчать, что разведчикам чужды новые технологии, но это не так. Эффективный способ не оставлять следов, не использовать программы навигации.
Let's start with the most controversial item in the eyes of the average person: the common Moscow road atlas with the adresses of all the buildings in it. In the high-tech era, when everyone has a phone with GPS and good maps, it seems like an anachronism. But now consider the specifics of an agent's work, when he can leave no traces, including digital ones. I can't picture the agent who looks up the way to a secret location or a meeting place on Google Maps and then saves the route. That agent would have to be a complete idiot. Similarly, it's hard for me to imagine sending information about meeting place in electronic form, this is an additional risk […] So you can whinge all you like about intelligence agents shunning new technologies, but it isn't the case. An effective means of leaving no traces is not to use GPS.
Blogger and social media guru, Anton Nossik [ru], on the other hand, laid the blame at Americans’ inability to work with agents in human intelligence. Referencing an interview [ru] with famous Soviet defector Viktor Suvorov, Nossik claimed:
По мнению Суворова, у ЦРУ просто очень хреново поставлена агентурная работа. Потому что, с одной стороны, львиная доля разведданных собирается с помощью техсредств (спутниковая съёмка, перехват коммуникаций), а не от живых людей. С другой стороны, самые эффективные агенты на службе Америки — иностранцы, шпионящие в своих собственных странах. Которых не нужно учить маскироваться, гримироваться, носить парики, потому что их главная маскировка — реальная биография и занимаемая должность.
According to Suvorov, the CIA is simply bloody awful at working with agents. This is because, on the one hand, the lion's share of intelligence info is gathered by technical means (satelite photos, intercepted communications) and not from living people. And, on the other hand, the most effective agents in the service of America are foreigners working in their own countries, who don't need to learn to disguise themselves, apply make-up, wear wigs, because their main disguise is their real biography and the work they do.
Nossik went on to claim Fogle's alleged letter [ru] (written in awkward if grammatically correct Russian) looked like “Nigerian spam run through Google translate”.
Of course, as usual, some RuNet users saw the invisible hand of the Kremlin at work in the entire episode. As one commentator [ru] sarcastically put it
Ну, да — накладные усы, парики, шифры и прочая хуета. Почти как в кино. Не верю я в это лицедейство! Компас меня убил окончательно. Надо было еще словарь англо-русский добавить. И детскую порнографию.
Oh yeah, fake moustaches, wigs, codebooks and similar bullsh*t. Almost like in the films. I don't believe this charade. The compass was the last straw. They should have added a Russian-English dictionary. And some child porn.
Interestingly, while Fogle's competence (or lack there of) as a spy has been a hot topic of conversation, almost no attention has been paid to the potential fallout from the expulsion of a US diplomat for spying. Similarly few have bothered to speculate on why the Kremlin chose to expel Fogle now, when the Kremlin and the US are in high-level talks about Syria and intelligence-sharing. It is telling that what should normally be a major diplomatic incident now barely registers as more than an amusing anecdote for Russian netizens.

author: Daniel Alan Kennedy


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Turkey: Syrian Refugees Targeted after Reyhanlı Blasts · Global Voices
Baran Mavzer

On May 11th, Reyhanlı [en] small Turkish town on Turkey-Syria border, was under terrorist attacks. This was the biggest terrorist attack [en] in country's 90 year-old republican history. After the explosions nine people were detained [en] by the security forces. Officials said [en], two vehicles were used in the bombings and more than 50 people were killed and at least 100 people were injured. But on social media, there were rumors that the real number of the victims is more than 100.
Twitter user shiny (@Idauk) tweets [Tr]:
@Idauk Simdi Antakya'dan arkadasimla konustum.Olu sayisi 100'un uzerinde diyor.Reyhanli'da fiili sokaga cikma yasagi varmis.Hastahaneler perisan.
I just talked with a friend from Antakya. As my friend said, the number of the people were killed is over 100. Also, there is a curfew. Hospitals are all miserable.
Just after the explosions, the Turkish government issued a media ban [en] on the Reyhanlı blasts. This ban received a big reaction on social media. Twitter user denizatam (@denizatam) writes:
@denizatam AKP çareyi buldu, Reyhanlı için yayın yasağı başladı! Ana akım medya yetmedi yerel basını sustur şimdi. http://haber.sol.org.tr/devlet-ve-siyaset/akp-careyi-buldu-reyhanli-icin-yayin-yasagi-basladi-haberi-72848 …
AKP (Justice and Development Party) found the solution. A media ban was initiated for the Reyhanli Blasts! Mainstream was not enough, now it is the time to silence local media.
Journalists protested [en] the media ban. On Türkmax, the media ban was protested in a more sarcastic way, on their comedy show “Heberler”. In the video, the anchorman is opening the program with Reyhanlı blasts. Due to media ban, he remains speechless. Here is the video [tr]:
A Turkish viral graphics and design website, bobiler.org, published a picture about media ban. User brewolve prepared a graphic about the Turkish media's reaction on Reyhanlı blasts, since the media was just following their normal program line and not mentioning Reyhanlı blasts. Graphic can be seen here.
A picture at bobiler.org on the blast media ban
Although the media ban was lifted by Turkish courts, on May 16, a video on YouTube claims that the ban has fulfilled its purpose. In the video [tr], a journalist interviews several people on the street asking them “what do you think about Reyhanlı?”. The answers are shocking; only one person recognized the blasts, and a few remembered where the town was, and rest had no idea where it was or what happened in Reyhanlı, even though the video was recorded only five days after the blasts. Here is the video:
There are also reports [tr] on racist attacks on Syrian refugees. Since the Syrian civil war, Syrian refugees and militants fled to Antakya [en], a Turkish city on Syrian-Turkey border, and Reyhanlı, a town of the same city. Since the refugees and militants moved [en] into Antakya, the tension between the locals and Syrians has been high. In the report it says:
“Suriyelilerin yaşadığı binalara topluca gidilmiş birçok ev yakılmaya çalışılmış, ele geçirilen kişiler darp edilmişlerdir. Aşırı milliyetçi/ulusalcı eğilimlere sahip partilere mensup fanatiklerinden olduğu söylenen ve her geçen gün sayıları artmakta olan bu gurup, yaşanan gelişmelerden Suriyelileri sorumlu tutmakta, Reyhanlı ilçe merkezinde devriye gezerek sıklıkla yol kesmekte, Suriyeli veya Suriye vatandaşı olduğunu zannettikleri kişileri linç etmeye çalışmaktadırlar”
A group of people went to the buildings that Syrians are living in, they beat the people they caught. As said, these people are the members of ultra nationalist parties and they increasing in numbers, they blame Syrians for the blasts, and they patrol the Reyhanli city center, where they are attacking Syrians or people who look like Syrian citizens.
Turks on social media gave mixed reactions on the attacks on Syrians in Reyhanli.
Twitter user T.C. Zehra Aydogan (@TurkKizi1919) is angry at Syrians in Antakya:
@TurkKizi1919 Turkiye'ye yerlestirilmeye calistiklari Suriyeli Multeci dedikleri terorsitlerdir.
The so called Syrian refugees that they want to settle in Turkey are, actually terrorists.
Another user, T.C.Devrim #ATATÜRK (@saadet_karakus), is angry at government for helping the refugees instead of the locals:
@saadet_karakus Suriyeli multeci icin milyar dolar harcayanlar,Reyhanlı esnafının vergi, sigorta borçlarını 1 yıl erteliyor.Silsene o borcu buyuk devlet!
The ones, who spend billions of dollars for Syrian refugees, are delaying Reyhanli store owners’ debts for one year. Write off those debts, you big government!
Twitter user Sami Pelitli (@SamiPelitli) says:
@SamiPelitli Reyhanli'da patlayan bomba yuzunden multecileri suclamak, onlara saldirmak nasil bir vicdansizliktir? Bir de irkci degiliz dersiniz.
What kind of remorselessness it is, to blame refugees for the blasts in Reyhanli, and to attack them? And you also say we are not racist.
Journalist Hayko Bağdat (@haykobagdat) tweets:
@haykobagdat ÖSO, cemaat, AKP'li filanlı olmaktan değil, tehcirin ne olduğunu bildiğimden Suriyeli mültecilere toz kondurmuyorum ben.
I am defending Syrian refugees, because I know the meaning of emigration, not because I am fan of FSA (Free Syrian Army), AKP (Justice and development Party), or congregation.
After the death of tens of people and a border town with tens of buildings collapsed [en], life still continues in Reyhanlı. Twitter user Bünyamin Salmanyan (@bunyms) remembers  Mustafa Ayaz [tr], who was killed by the blasts in Reyhanlı:
@bunyms Reyhanlı'daki saldırıda hayatını kaybeden 25 yaşındaki Mustafa Ayaz'ın eşi bugün doğum yapmış, adını Mustafa koymuşlar..
Mustafa Ayaz, 25, was killed by the blasts; his wife gave a birth to his son today, and they named him Mustafa…

author: Baran Mavzer


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Does Kyrgyzstan need Russia’s Customs Union? · Global Voices
Aiganysh Ibraimova

Discussions surrounding potential membership of the Customs Union that currently comprises Belarus, Russia, and Kazakhstan are not new to Kyrgyzstan's public. Having come into effect in July of 2011 the union aims to bring member states into a common economic zone, establishing a tariff-free platform for regional trade.
The Customs Union's main initiator was Russia, and the project is a core part of the Eurasian Union, a geopolitical project that featured in Russian President Vladimir Putin's election campaign in 2011. But while authoritarian Kazakhstan and Belarus slipped in through the back door, potential membership continues to be the subject of a noisy debate in Kyrgyzstan.
So far, government officials have continually announced that Kyrgyzstan is willing and ready to join the union.
A 28 days later-type Customs Union “demotivator” that went viral courtesy of censor.net.ua, a Ukrainian website. Ukraine is also mulling entry into the union. The caption reads “Welcome Home! To the Customs Union with Russia!”
Supporters of entry believe that the Customs Union is mandatory for economic development, a unique chance for local businessmen to export their goods to Russia and stimulate an increase in domestic productivity.
But for those who are less Russia-focused, membership of the Customs Union entails a massive loss, since imports from China, with whom Kyrgyzstan currently enjoys a liberal trade arrangement as a result of the two countries’ membership of the World Trade Organization, would spike in price.
Many Kyrgyzstanis view membership from the perspective of “when you have nothing, you have nothing to lose”. As a small, predominantly agrarian economy, argues [ru] Mirlan, a commenter on the Russian-language Vecherni Bishkek website:
У нас так и так ничего нету, нам нечего терять, а вот пользы можно найти при вступлении в ТС.
We do not have anything at any rate, we have nothing to lose, but by joining the Customs Union, we can secure some benefits.
Beneath the same article, which highlighted the plight of Kyrgyzstan's more industrialized northern neighbor Kazakhstan, arguably yet to see the benefits of Customs Union membership, views on entry were mostly positive. Another reader, Issyk-Kul farmer maintained [ru]:
У России – газ, у Казахстан – нефть, а у Кыргызстана – ничего. Так что вместе мы сила ))
Russia has gas, Kazakhstan has oil and Kyrgyzstan has nothing. So, together, we are a force!
But that ignores the fact that the country's economy remains heavily dependent on Chinese consumer goods. Currently tariffs on those goods are around 5%. They might double as a result of entry into the Customs Union. China, as a fellow member of the WTO, would be entitled to demand compensation:
As tweep  tweeted [ru] during Kloop Live Debates a citizen debate show hosted by citizen media platform Kloop.kg:
Кыргызстан зависит от настроения Китая.
Kyrgyzstan depends on China's mood.
Opponents believe that the Customs Union will ruin Kyrgyzstan’s economy. As a WTO member since 1998, Kyrgyzstan has established a good source of income by re-exporting Chinese goods to neighboring Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan with the help of the biggest market in Central Asia – Dordoi. Dordoi alone turns over $400 million a year, 20% of the country's GDP. As a result of the higher import tariffs on Chinese goods, this trade would be rendered meaningless, leaving traders jobless and Dordoi stagnant.
But as a small, landlocked country, Kyrgyzstan faces a Hobson's choice: either rid itself of dependence on cheap Chinese imports that stifle domestic production, or accept price increases and Russian domination.
As ‘Idiocy’ asserted [ru]:
Вообще с нашими правителями лучше стать федерацией РФ. или районом КНР
With our rulers it would be better for us to become either another federation of Russia or a district of China
The May 14, Kloop Live Debate on the issue of Customs Union entry, part of a series of talks organized by Kloop media to discuss controversial issues in the country, pitted Sabyrbek Zheentaev against Borubek Kudayarov. Zheentaev, who argued [ru] for Kyrgyzstan's entry into the union, said the republic should take the responsibility of developing its own domestic industries:
Kyrgyzstan will never enter the market for global trade if it continues to simply resell Chinese cars. Even our children will continue to resell Chinese cars and they will experience the same problems that we have now. It needs to be stopped.
Kudayarov, who stressed the importance of Kyrgyzstan's economic relations with China, countered [ru]:
Russia will always focus on its own market, it will not consider the interests of Kazakhstan, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan. Even current trade tariffs are set by Russia. Kyrgyzstan's economy will collapse without trade with China!
Social media users, watching the debate live, shared their opinions, using the hashtag #kloopdebates.
@AJamilya tweeted [ru]:
Всё будет зависеть от интересов РФ #kloopdebates
Everything will depend on Russia's interests
While @Azat25 said [ru]
В случае не вступления в Таможенный союз, инфляция будет каждым годом только расти #kloopdebates
In the case of [Kyrgyzstan] not joining the Customs Union, inflation will only keep growing each year.
Clearly, entry to the Customs Union is a divisive topic, with farmers, alcohol producers, traders in Chinese goods and ordinary netizens all disagreeing over the right economic path to take. But as Kazakh economist Mukhtar Taizhan notes [ru], unlike in Belarus or Kazakhstan, the country's relatively liberal political regime at least provides a vantage point for discussing the topic. The public can only hope that the government listens in on the conversation.

author: Aiganysh Ibraimova


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Indonesia: Petition to Save the Forest of Aceh · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Rudi Putra initiated an online petition asking the Indonesian government to block the expansion of mining and palm oil activities in Aceh and to protect the country's remaining rainforest. More than one million people around the world have already signed the petition:
I live and work in the last place on Earth where endangered orangutans, rhinos, elephants, and tigers still roam together — but it'll be bulldozed to bits unless our President hears our call and steps in to save this unique habitat.

author: Mong Palatino


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“Lift your Skirt, Save a Life” Cervical Cancer Ad Divides Singapore · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

To remind Singaporeans about the free Pap smear screenings this month, the Singapore Cancer Society came out with a “Lift your skirt. Save a life” ad which sparked a lively discussion on whether it was creative, effective, or offensive.
The campaign featured local celebrities replicating the iconic pose of Marilyn Monroe in her film The Seven Year Itch. The campaign poster can be seen on bus shelters and train stations.
According to the Singapore Cancer Society, cervical cancer is a major health issue in the country:
Cervical Cancer ranks no. 9 among the cancers diagnosed in Singaporean women. Each year, 200 women are diagnosed with the disease and 70 of them die from it. It is a highly preventable and curable disease.
From 1 to 31 May 2013, all female Singaporeans and PR aged 25 – 69 years old, can enjoy FREE Pap smear screening at participating clinics island-wide.
At least 178 clinics are offering free Pap smear screenings this month. There were mixed reactions to the ad. Some praised it for being catchy while others thought it was a fashion or slimming ad. Others criticized it for being too sexual.
“Lift your skirt. Save a life” ad to promote awareness on cervical cancer. Image from Facebook page of the Singapore Cancer Society
Everything Also Complain believes a simple reminder that there are free pap smear screenings would have been enough:
…you don’t need a controversial headline to grab the attention of Singaporean women. One four letter word starting with the letter F would do the trick: FREE, and that magical word that possesses Singaporeans into queuing long hours for stuff they don’t need is restrained here by small caps and boring font
a musliminah in NL also thinks the same way:
the idea behind the sexualised women was catering to the male gaze, suggesting voyeurism and sexual availability of women. This copywriter thinks that puns hardly work in ads, while others thought that it's not a good idea to sexualise ads which carry an important message.
What word would trigger the Singaporean mindset to pay attention to this ad? For the next campaign, I suggest the following headline:
FREE Pap Smears!
That oughta attract attention and get women to sign up for the free checkups. :)
Mr Brown supports the cause but is not happy with the campaign theme:
I am all for cervical cancer awareness but really? “Lift your skirt, save your life.”?
While you are at it, why not “Open your legs, save your life.”?
Or “Drop your panties, save your life.”?
Or “Upskirt your downturn, save your life.”?
In any case, despite the fracas, cancer is serious stuff and I shall provide the link to the info for free pap smear screenings in May
Writing for the Breakfast Network, Wesley Gunter defends the ad:
…if an ad like this CAN make more women go for PAP smears because it GRABS their attention and saves their lives, hasn’t it met its objectives?
The only thing that is “sad” about this whole affair is how this creative attempt was so readily shot down before it was given a chance to see if it actually works.
Linda Black, one of the models who participated in the ad, is proud over the success of the campaign:
I am so proud of the campaign, and I think it was beautifully shot and lovingly edited with women’s health issues at heart. I stand by that, and I will defend it and my decision to be a part of it.
That being said, the campaign is a major success – loads of people are talking about it, or have heard of it, and a kernel of truth has been planted: when was the last time you ladies have had your screening? Isn’t it marvelous that in this country, the powers that be care enough about you to give you your rightfully deserved screening for FREE?


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Moscow Soccer Fans Clash with Police · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Following Saturday's scoreless soccer game that catapulted Moscow's CSKA club to its fourth Russian Premier League title, the team's fans clashed with riot troops in downtown Moscow. Police detained 140 people [ru], later releasing all but two. Bloggers posted photos to LiveJournal here, here, and here [ru], alleging police brutality.
Police “detain” a soccer fan, Moscow, 18 May 2013, photo by Sergey Danilov, posted to his LJ.

author: Kevin Rothrock


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No Women In Pubs In Andhra After 10 PM · Global Voices
Rezwan

Does the absence of women in public spaces makes these spaces safer for women?
The above comment is made by the blogger at The Life and Times of an Indian Homemaker, who is outraged by the decision of the government of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, to ban women from pubs after 10 pm claiming that it would keep them safe.

author: Rezwan


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Peru: Strike in Iquitos in Protest of Corruption · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

The permanent problems and chaos [es] in the city of Iquitos and the continuing complaints [es] of corruption in the Regional Government of Loreto have led to various protests [es] by the people and civil society [es].
The most recent of these protests was on May 15, 2013, after the Patriotic Front of Loreto organized [es] a 24 hour strike demanding that the regional president and vice president, Yván Vásquez Valera and Luis Lozano Escudero, vacate their posts because of suspected acts of corruption.
The newspaper La Verdad Iquitos indicated [es] that one of the reasons for this strike was the role that the Judicial Power was playing in the following cases: “The actions of Judge Nataly Maldonado asking the Public Prosecutor to return the sewage system documents belonging to the OPIPP (Public Agency of Infrastructure for Productivity) which were confiscated, and the conduct of Judge Alina Peixoto, in the case of the agrarian credits, are all that was needed for people to begin to react, first with a 24 hour strike.”
The strike began even before midnight, the time when protest activities normally start in Iquitos, with groups in support of the strike patrolling the city, ensuring that it was being observed. Diana Vela (@dianatshow) [es], a law student, reported on her Twitter account at 10.30 pm on May 14:
@dianatshow: Okait, comienzan a romper botellas y quemar llantas, aun faltando hora y media para el “PARO” #iquitos
@dianatshow: Okay, they are starting to break bottles and burn tires, even though there is still an hour and a half left before the “STRIKE” #iquitos
This led to conflicts with law enforcement, after disturbances [es] in front of the house of the President of the Regional Government, as Carolina Gomes (@llinijoplin) [es] informed on Twitter:
@llinijoplin: La Policia Nacional acaba de lanzar 15 bombas lagrimogenas en una marcha pacifica. ¿Alguien dijo corrupcion?
@llinijoplin: The National Police just launched 15 tear gas bombs on a peaceful march. Did someone say corruption?
Facebook user Pedro Esquibel [es] shared a foto of the central Plaza 28 de Julio at that time:
Image of the regional strike in Loreto. Photo shared by Pedro Esquibel on Facebook.
The strike was observed [es] by the majority of people in diverse sectors [es] of the city, and on the afternoon of May 15 there was a protest march [es] made up of members of the Patriotic Front of Loreto, representatives of other organizations and diverse sympathizers. After returning to the house of the Regional President, where they burned banners as a sign of protest, they joined together again in the Plaza 28 where they performed some symbolic acts of protest.
Journalist Nancy Alarcón (@NancyAlarconCho) [es] reported on Twitter:
@NancyAlarconCho: Acaba de llegar la capilla ardiente para velar a la Ley que ha muerto en Loreto, Poder Judicial la asesino! La corrupcion vive.Paro en Iqui
@NancyAlarconCho: The funeral chapel is here to hold a vigil for the Law which has died in Loreto, and the Judicial Power is the killer!  Corruption lives.Strike in Iqui
Ricardo Miguel Garcia Pinedo [es], a young activist from Loreto, uploaded some photos of the protest:
Photo shared by Ricardo Miguel Garcia Pinedo on Facebook.
Photo shared by Ricardo Miguel Garcia Pinedo on Facebook.
For his part, Iván Vásquez Valera, President of the Regional Government, commented [es] to a local media source that the strike was “led by politicians who would like to reinforce negative attitudes in a new electoral campaign”, and that these politicians do not have arguments for the debate. At the end he added that “We can debate, but with dignity. Not offending or insulting others, calling them thieves, corrupt, or other names.”
Among those tweeting from Iquitos, the feeling about the strike was not uniform either. Communications student Percy Meza (@alexiankernel) [es] commented on what the result of the strikes is to him:
@AlexianKernel: Viendo los videos de lo que dejó el “paro” de 24 horas en Iquitos. Montículos increíbles de basura. Qué lamentable, en serio.
@AlexianKernel: Watching the videos of what the 24 hour “strike” in Iquitos left. Huge piles of trash. What a shame, seriously.
And from Lima, journalist Jaime Cok (@InO_MoXo) [es] reflected with disappointment:
@InO_MoXo: El paro en #Iquitos se redujo a que los políticos jalen agua para su molino y que turistas se tomen foto con el ataúd simbólico de las leyes
@InO_MoXo: The strike in #Iquitos was reduced to politicians using the situation to their advantage and tourists taking pictures with the symbolic coffin of the law
Finally, it is worth mentioning that the president of the Board of Public Prosecutors, Dr. Mario Alberto Gallo Zamudio, declared [es] that “the people of the Loreto region are meeting their civic duty which is contained in the Constitution of Peru, and that in this period of time it is a democratic law-based state”, adding as well that “the Public Prosecutor continues steady in his work, and justice will have to be applied no matter what, within the established legal framework, requiring those who are responsible to answer, in accordance with the proof that is gathered.”

author: Juan Arellano


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TEDxSão Tomé: More speakers confirmed · Global Voices
Thiana Biondo

Another two speakers [pt] have been confirmed for the event TEDxSão Tomé, in the islands of São Tomé and Príncipe, in 20 June. Mark Richard Shuttleworth [en], a South African founder of the company Canonical Ltd, which develops free software like Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Edubuntu, Xubuntu and Lubuntu and Guilherme Alves Luís Vaz de Carvalho [pt], an artist from São Tome that composed the song “Frutinha da Sorte” for the film “Frutinha do Equador”.

author: Thiana Biondo


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Violent Dispersal of ‘Red Shirts’ Protest Remembered in Thailand · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Thousands gathered in Bangkok to commemorate the third anniversary of the violent crackdown of an anti-government protest organized by the Red Shirts.
‘Red Shirt’ members in Thailand commemorate the third anniversary of the violent crackdown of an anti-government protest. Image from @RichardBarrow


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“Who Wants to be Prestigious?” · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

On the blog section [es] of Chilean newspaper El Mercurio [es], columnist Leila Guerriero analyzes the meaning of prestige [es] and notes:
Rock musicians have been smart: ‘rock star’ is one of the few jobs (we'd had to add non-Saxon public servants) where a loss of prestige means an increase of quotation. Almost for every other member of the human race, regardless of their profession, prestige, for some time now, is useful only to estimate the height where they will fall from.
And she concludes:
[…] only a man prepared to lose everything is invulnerable. Only someone who is ready to live without caring about how others look at him/her -and who is ready to design a life accordingly- will be an effective machine, a being that is apt for survival.

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


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Why Is China’s Post-80’s Generation Dispirited? · Global Voices
Abby Liu

China's state-run People’s Daily ran a piece titled “The Post-80′s Generation is Dispirited: Early Decline Cause for Alarm[zh],” arguing that China’s youth born after 1980 face “spiritual confusion and a loss of identity” despite better material living conditions. In response, social media celebrity and social critic “Zuoyeben“[zh] wrote an essay on the real cause of this issue. The essay, which reveals different social problems in today's China, has found resonance among many Weibo users. Tea Leaf Nation has translated the essay.

author: Abby Liu


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10.6 Endless Seconds in Football History · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

On Orsai » Blog [es], author Hernán Casciari narrates, as suspended in time, 10.6 seconds [es] that have gone down in football history and that remain in the memories of each and every person who lived through them, directly or indirectly:
Less than eleven seconds earlier, when the Argentinian player receives the ball from a team mate, clocks in Mexico indicate thirteen hours, twelve minutes and twenty seconds.
[…]
He closes his eyes. He lets himself fall forward, his body leaning, and the whole world remains silent.
The player knows he's taken forty four steps and [given] twelve taps, all of them with his left foot. He knows the move will last ten seconds and six tenths. Then he thinks it's about time to explain to everybody who he is, who he has been and who he will be until the end of time.


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Are Indian Companies “Land Grabbing” in Africa? · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

As foreign companies and governments buy or lease land in countries across Africa, the debate continues as to whether this will encourage development or is simply land grabbing, which displaces local populations and threatens food security.
The Hindu's Addis Ababa correspondent Aman Sethi (@Amannama) has recently written about Indian companies’ involvement in Ethiopia and Mali, and on 19 May he took part in a Q&A session on Facebook on the issue of so-called Indian land grabs in African countries.
Susanna Myrtle Lazarus asked:
What is the purpose of land grabs in Africa? Is it for the property value or just for resources like water etc?
Aman Sethi noted that the term “land grab” is disputed:
Well that's an interesting question: the jury is still out on the whole question of “land grab”. The UN, for instance, has come up with a set of guidelines on land investment. Host countries tend to lease out land, rather than sell it, so it isn't usually about property value because the lessor company cannot sell the land. Investments are invariably for the resources then – so it could be minerals, it could be timber, it could be soil and water to grow crops. The big question of course is – are host countries getting enough back in return for leasing out land and (often) displacing people?
Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi, Managing Director of Karuturi Global Ltd., Gambella, Ethiopia. Photo by Flickr user Planète à vendre (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
Jayakarthik Sabarathnam's question was:
Don't you think Africa's land problems are a result of confusion over who owns the land, whether it is an individual or the government, since individuals have been staying on government land under the assumption that they are the owners whereas the government considers the land as its own?
Sethi answered:
I think this is a key and crucial point – that in at least two countries that I wrote about – Ethiopia and Mali – there is significant confusion over land titles. In Ethiopia for instance, all land is owned by the state and is leased out to private individuals and companies. In places like Gambella – as I mention in the second part of the story – communities often have pre-existing communal claims on the land, which are not acknowledged by the state. This creates a serious problem. The Ethiopian government believes that the Commune Development programme – or villagization – will actually streamline the process of land use by giving land titles to the people who are resettled under the scheme. However, this will of course involve a radical change in the way the community conceives of land.
Roybath Mylaks wanted to know if Indian investment actually helped to increase local skills:
Are Indian companies adding to capacity building of locals there? Do they hire locally or bring in workers from India?
Aman Sethi replied:
On labour – the Ethiopian government is very clear that they want companies to train local workers. Last year, I wrote about how liquor Baron Ponty Chadha had come up with a plan to bring farmers from Punjab to Ethiopia – but the plan was shot down by the government. Most governments allow companies to bring in highly skilled technicians and managers, but try to get companies to train people to become machine operators etc.
Samiksha Srivastava's question was along the same lines:
Don't you think Indian-owned companies are enhancing the development there?
Sethi didn't think there was a simple answer to that, and referred to the controversy surrounding Indian company Karuturi Global, which has been heavily criticised for its operations in Ethiopia:
Well, I think that a lot of developing countries are still figuring out what development really means to them – what path should they take, what resources should they allocate, what should be the role of the state and the market? Thus, I think that Indian companies have become a part of this debate by participating in these developing economies. Many in Ethiopia are unhappy with the fact that a foreign company has acquired such large amounts of land – while others believe that companies like Karuturi will help the country earn foreign exchange – so the debate is wide open right now.
Pranay Sinha asked:
Do you think the government needs to put in place some minimum standards for corporates operating abroad so that locals are not abused in the process of these investments, or should it be a self-restricting corporate code of conduct?
Referring again to Karuturi Global, Aman Sethi responded:
Well, I think most governments have legal frameworks to safeguard the rights of project-affected communities – however, many (much like in India) cannot effectively monitor these companies. In Karuturi's case for instance, no laws have been broken – but there seems to be a structural problem with the way the project was conceived – so I think we probably need to think beyond a legal regime and perhaps begin by trying to understand these processes as best we can. It's easy to say “neocolonial land grab” and end the discussion – but that doesn't help our understanding of the world – rather it restricts engagement because the discussion is effectively over.

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Bermuda: House & Senate Accountability  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Bermudian government has introduced a set of reform initiatives; Vexed Bermoothes puts forward one of his own – “mak[ing] MPs accountable for their vote.”


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China: Online Social Management · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

David Bandurski from China Media Project explained the idea of “online social management”, a set of tactics to increase the capacity for channeling online public opinion, put forward by Fu Siming, a professor at the Central Party School.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Mauritania Through a Portuguese Artist’s Eyes · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Portuguese artist Isabel Fiadeiro (@Isabelfiadeiro) lives in Nouakchott, Mauritania, where she paints and runs an art gallery. Fiadeiro also sketches from observation, filling her blog Sketching in Mauritania with images of daily life in the West African nation.
Global Voices spoke to Fiadeiro about her art and how sketching has helped her get to know Mauritania.
Global Voices (GV): Where are you from originally? How long have you lived in Mauritania and what took you there in the first place?
Isabel Fiadeiro (IF): My father is Portuguese and my mother Spanish. I grew up in Portugal and I feel Portuguese. I also lived in England for almost 15 years (on and off). Actually I left London in March 2003 to go back and settle in Portugal; I had finished a BA in Fine Arts at the Wimbledon School of Arts in 2000, and I stopped painting for the next three years, so I decided it was time to go.
In November 2003, a Portuguese friend and I decided to travel to Guinea-Bissau in a Renault 4L. The car broke down in the Parc National du Banc d'Arguin on the Mauritanian coast. My friend stayed in Nouakchott and I went off with a group of French people to discover the Adrar Region.
We went on off-road tracks and through the desert stopping occasionally in small villages to buy bread or repair the tyres. I had a sketch book with me and for the first time I started drawing from observation. It was this curiosity of knowing more about the people that lived in the middle of these vast empty spaces that made me come back in January 2004, and in September 2004 I moved to Nouakchott and I'm still here.
Diallo and Mamadou, tailors in Nouakchott. Sketch by Isabel Fiadeiro.
GV: How does sketching help you understand a place?
IF: Drawing and the observation that comes with it makes you see the world in a different way. You slow down, you look and you discover things. For me this act of drawing is also a sort of memory and questioning.
People around you come to see what you're doing so it works in two ways. You're recording what attracted your attention, but by your action communication becomes possible, even if you don't speak the language.
Police at demonstration, Nouakchott. Sketch by Isabel Fiadeiro.
For years I would go to a remote village for a month and stay with a local family, drawing their daily life. I did that in two fishing villages in the Banc d'Arguin but also in Oualata, Goungel and Ouadane. My last long stay was in Tindouf in the Western Sahara refugee camps where I went to sketch the women and their work in the camps. All those people became friends and we still exchange mails and phone calls and meet if they happen to come to Nouakchott.
Also in each area I discovered a new vocabulary to do with the sea or the land and the cattle or the revolution.
Griots at the Fondation Malouma. Sketch by Isabel Fiadeiro.
GV: You are also a member of the online community Urban Sketchers. Can you tell us about them?
IF: Urban Sketchers is a non-profitmaking, international organisation, dedicated to fostering the art of on-location drawing and painting. I am one of 100 correspondents invited from around the globe. Our aim is to inspire others to sketch daily, this way improving their skills and observation capacities.
I discovered them in 2008, and it was a great discovery because until then I was isolated, and finding this community suddenly made me want to sketch more and better. The founder of Urban Sketchers, Gabi Campanario, uses sketches as a reportage tool; his work is published in the Seattle Times. This way of using sketches made a strong impression on me.
Discussing The Great Gatsby at a reading club. Sketch by Isabel Fiadeiro.
I have participated in a number of Urban Sketchers symposiums. The next one is in Barcelona. We now have another correspondent from Mauritania, Oumar Ball, who started sketching from observation a few years ago and publishes his work on Flickr. Later this year I would like to hold some talks and workshops to encourage more people in Mauritania to sketch from observation. Citymag, a free magazine distributed monthly in Nouakchott has started to publish my drawings. Maybe that will inspire more people to pick up a pen or pencil and start sketching.


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Mozambique: Medical Professionals Announce Strike · Global Voices
Janet Gunter

Screenshot from press conference video
Medical professionals in Mozambique have announced they will strike. They consider that they were “humiliated, insulted and disdained” in their last meeting with government. This current strike follows a strike earlier this year by doctors. The video announcement is available with subtitles in English, and a number of languages.

author: Janet Gunter


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Nicaraguans Defend Law Against Violence Towards Women · Global Voices
Norman Garcia

In April, a campaign called “I Support Law 779″ was launched on social networks to demand that a law protecting the physical, psychological and moral integrity of women be respected. The campaign consisted of writing a supportive phrase, taking a photo with the phrase, and uploading it with the tag #yoapoyolaley779 [es] (#ISupportLaw779).
Law 779, or the Integral Law Against Violence Towards Women [es], was approved in Nicaragua on January 26, 2012, and went into effect in June of the same year.
The law prohibits mediation between victims and aggressors, independent of the type of aggression. Starting in March, this aspect of the law has provoked religious leaders and members of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) to promote reforms to the law, claiming that mediation can exist in cases where the sentence is less than five years.
The first people to gather in protest to reject said reform, by considering it unconstitutional, were the members of the Democratic Association of Lawyers in Nicaragua (Adanic), who called together their unionizers and citizenry in general to demand that the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) resolve the appeals against Law 779.
Carlos Lucas [es] writes about the law on his blog:
@AnabellZavala [es] in support of Bill 779 (“It would be unconstitutional if Law 779 did not exist #ISupportLaw779″)
No es perfecta y ni siquiera revolucionaria y aunque llega algo tarde, tomando en cuenta el enorme daño físico, vidas, estado sicológico de las mujeres y sus familias, que había venido provocando su vacío, pero la puesta en marcha de la Ley 779 o Ley Integral contra la Violencia hacia las Mujeres de Nicaragua, comienza a sacudir- y más si se si aplica firmemente- nuestra forma de pensar y conceptos sobre familia, matrimonio, unión de pareja, hogar, felicidad, armonía familiar, amor, etc.
Tan es así, que sobre esta Ley 779, apenas dictada en el 2012, ya hay en Nicaragua, toda una reaccionaria conspiración contra algunos de esos avances en el tema de la violencia contra la mujer.
It is not perfect and would not even revolutionize anything and although it has arrived a bit late, taking into account the enormous physical harm, the lives, the psychological state of women and their families, which had come provoking its void, the start up of Law 779 or the Integral Law Against Violence Towards Women in Nicaragua, is beginning to shake up – and more so if applied firmly – our way of thinking and concepts of family, marriage, civil union, home, happiness, familial harmony, love, etc.
It is so much so that, with regards to Law 779, which was only enacted in 2012, there is already an entire reactionary conspiracy in Nicaragua against some of the advances in the field of violence against women.
At the start of May, Bishop Abelardo Mata made statements to the media comparing Law 779 with the Anti-Christ, adding that this new law is separating families by not permitting mediation between the aggressor and the victim. The bishop's declarations provoked reaction from the public on social networks once again.
Feminist group La Corriente [es] created a video dedicated to Bishop Mata, where four activists from the feminist movement are featured doing a parody of Yuri's song “Maldita Primavera”:
“Watch out! #BishopMata” Stencil created by Rodrigo Rodriguez. Protest campaign against Bishop Mata
Additionally, activists on social networks began the campaign “Watch out, #BishopMata!” Rodrigo Rodriguez [es] writes the following on his blog:
¿Es la ley 779 REALMENTE tan grave para el sistema de justicia -pensemos por un momento que nuestro sistema de justicia es bien aplicado, sólo para ejemplificar esto- y el ejercicio de los derechos humanos en nuestro país, como para compararla con el significado del anticristo, entendido desde una visión cristiano-católica como un adversario decisivo del hijo de Dios (ese ser invisible, omnipresente, todopoderoso que controla y decide nuestro destino)?
En serio… ¿en realidad es tan grave?
Is Law 779 REALLY that serious for the justice system — let's think for a moment that our justice system is well implemented, just to exemplify this — and the exercise of human rights in our country, to compare it to the meaning of the antichrist, understood from a Christian-Catholic vision as a decisive adversary of the son of God (this invisible, omnipresent, all-powerful being that controls and decides our destiny)?
Really… is it that serious in reality?
Blog 24 Pieces of Craziness published another video [es] made by the group Youths for Law 779, where they sing the same song that La Corriente dedicated to Bishop Mata:
According to the document “Why do I defend Law 779?” [es], elaborated upon by the Catholics for the Right to Choose movement:
En Nicaragua las cifras de Violencia Intrafamiliar y Sexual registradas en las Comisarías de la Mujer,han venido incrementándose anualmente de 31759 en 2009 a 34763 en 2010. El Instituto de Medicina Legal IML refleja en el 2012, la realización de 5371 peritajes, de las cuales 4726 fueron realizados a mujeres y 642 fueron realizados a hombres (en este último caso, los agresores son hombres incluidos los agentes estatales).
In Nicaragua, numbers from Domestic and Sexual Violence registered in Police Stations for Women have been continuously increasing annually from 31,759 in 2009 to 34,763 in 2010. The Institute for Legal Medicine (IML) reflects in 2012 the completion of 5371 reports, of which 4726 came from women and 642 from men (in this last case, the aggressors are men, including state agents).
Furthermore the document adds that “every year more than 80 women in Nicaragua are murdered as a result of extreme violence that is exercised against them.”

author: Norman Garcia


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Russian Sociology Under Assault · Global Voices
Kevin Rothrock

Science isn’t safe in Russia today. That, anyway, was Lev Gudkov’s message this morning in a public statement published [ru] to the website of the Levada Center, one of Russia’s oldest and best-respected sociological research organizations. The institute is also home to scholars with attitudes widely critical of the Putin regime. Gudkov, who leads the Center, announced that prosecutors in Moscow contacted him five days ago, on May 15, to issue an official warning that his outfit is operating in violation of a recently minted federal law requiring politically-active NGOs receiving funds from abroad to register with the government as foreign agents.
Gudkov posted to slideshare.net scans [ru] of the Moscow prosecutors’ official warning, as well as his own public appeal in defense of the Levada Center. In that latter text, Gudkov announced that the application of the “foreign agents” law to the Center increases the odds that it will have to discontinue its work in the near future. In the statement, he insists that foreign funding comprises at maximum just 3% of Levada’s income, and argues that the organization's scientific work does not amount to political meddling.
Russian sociologist Lev Gudkov, 26 January 2008, photo by Andrei Romanenko, CC 3.0.
Specifically, the state accuses the Levada Center of conducting political work between 2009 and 2012 in exchange for donations from a handful of prominent Western institutions, including $150 thousand from the MacArthur Foundation, $290 thousand from the Ford Foundation, and $337 thousand from the OSI Assistance Foundation. (Disclosure to readers: RuNet Echo is currently funded by the Open Society Institute.) Additionally, Levada fulfilled several market research projects between 2010 and 2013 for foreign organizations such as the National Endowment for Democracy (for $40 thousand) and the University of Massachusetts (for $8 thousand).
Gudkov concludes gloomily:
Следуя логике Предостережения прокуратуры, мы должны были бы прекратить выпуск нашего журнала и закрыть сайт Левада-центра, перестать публиковать, открыто комментировать и анализировать результаты наших опросов в среде специалистов и в публичном пространстве – в СМИ, на семинарах и конференциях, на что согласиться мы не можем.
Following the logic of the prosecutors’ warning, we would have to stop publishing our journal and close the Levada Center’s website, stop publishing, [stop] publicly commenting and analyzing the results of our surveys in both the professional sphere and the public space—in the media, in seminars, and at conferences. We cannot agree to this.
On the Levada Center’s Facebook page [ru], the organization has called on netizens [ru] to disseminate Gudkov’s statement, which refutes the claim that sociological work amounts to political activity. At the time of writing this article, the Center’s Facebook post has attracted 158 “likes” and 1,159 “shares.” Many prominent sociologists have also weighed in [ru], arguing against conflating sociological study and political activism. In a Facebook post [ru] that has 79 “shares” of its own, sociologist Vladimir Magun alluded to Russia’s history of Soviet crackdowns on the autonomy and integrity of science:
Какими бы словами и легалистскими аргументами эта постыдная кампания ни прикрывалась, речь идет о войне против современной науки, и ее организаторы и вдохновители должны ясно осознавать, что их имена навсегда войдут в позорный список безграмотных душителей мысли – таких, как Лысенко, Жданов или Трапезников.
Whatever words and legalistic arguments this shameful campaign is hiding behind, this is a case of war against modern science, and its organizers and masterminds should clearly realize that their names will forever be on the shameful list of crude stranglers of free thought—home to men like Lysenko, Zhdanov, or Trapeznikov.
Political analyst and former Kremlin-insider Gleb Pavlovsky wrote [ru] on Facebook to ask the heads of Russia’s other two major sociological institutes, FOM and VTsIOM, what they thought of Levada’s legal troubles. The latter’s chief, Valery Fedorov, responded [ru] an hour later to report that VTsIOM, too, has received such warnings from state prosecutors.
On Twitter, Russian Internet users competed for wittiest remark about the prosecutors’ warning to Levada. With 132 retweets, activist Ilya Yashin appears to be in the lead, having written:
ВЦИОМ и “Левада” зафиксировали снижение рейтингов Путина и ЕР. Прокуратура зафиксировала снижение шансов ВЦИОМ и “Левады” на существование.
VTsIOM and “Levada” have established a decline in the ratings of Putin and United Russia. Prosecutors have established a decline in the chances that VTsIOM and “Levada” will [continue to] exist.
In another popular post (which now enjoys 20 retweets), oppositionist Alexander Zalessky made light of the fact that Levada’s main competitors, VTsIOM and FOM, are notorious for close ties to the Kremlin:
ВЦИОМ сообщает, что после закрытия Левада-центра рейтинги Единой России за неделю выросли на 35%.
VTsIOM reports that United Russia’s [approval] rating has grown 35% in the week since the Levada Center’s closure.
Not everyone, however, has rallied to Levada’s defense. The predictably pro-Kremlin e-zine politonline.ru posted excerpts of Gudkov’s public statement, tacking on the following question [ru]:
Стоп. Директор “Левада-центра” говорит, что иностранные гранты составляют лишь жалкие крохи – от 1.5% до 3% бюджета социологической службы. Но если это такие маленькие средства – почему же “Левада-центр” не готов от них отказаться и работать дальше без статуса “иностранного агента”? Вместо этого Лев Гудков говорит о “закрытии” центра. Вам тоже кажется, что это нелогично или где-то здесь нестыковка?
Stop. The director of the Levada Center says that foreign grants amount to just a few bread crumbs—from 1.5% to 3%—of the sociological institute’s budget. But if these funds are so small, why isn’t the Levada Center ready to reject them and continue its work without the “foreign agent” status? Instead of this, Lev Gudkov is talking about the “closure” of the center. Readers, does this also seem to you a bit illogical or somehow a bit off?
Stanislav Apetian, another RuNet presence commonly associated with the anti-opposition camp, raised the same questions on Twitter, writing:
Если в доходах “Левада-центра” иностранные деньги составляют 1,5%, то почему нельзя просто от них отказаться? К чему вопли о закрытии?
If in the Levada Center’s income, foreign money is just 1.5%, then why can’t it just reject such funding? What’s the use of bawling about getting closed down?
As most of Russia’s educated, Internet-conscious citizens share their disgust about the crackdown on Levada, the organization could do more to tackle questions like Apetian’s. Is Levada’s defense that it stopped receiving foreign donations after 2012, as its Twitter account indicated in a tweet [ru] earlier today? If that’s the case, why does the prosecutors’ warning mention OSI funding into mid-January 2013, and market research for foreign clients also into 2013?
Most important in the long-run, however, is the likely chilling effect that today’s news will have on Levada’s ability to maintain both clients (and donors) and key groups of respondents for its survey research. Indeed, in an interview [ru] with Kommersant Radio today, Gudkov revealed that clients and respondents alike are already increasingly reluctant to cooperate with an organization that carries Levada’s political baggage.


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Indian Army is now on Facebook · Global Voices
Rezwan

Prasant Naidu at Lighthouse Insights reports that after a successful start on Twitter, the Indian Army has recently joined Facebook. This is a welcome move as last year the Indian Army had issued orders asking all personnel — both officers and other ranks — to stop using social networking sites like Facebook or Orkut.