Cheek Terrence

A opposition rally near Manama, Bahrain, on November 22, 2013. Photo by Sayed-Baqer. Copyright Demotix.

With Bahrain's next elections coming up in November, the ruling regime has altogether taken its gloves off in terms of political intimidation. 

For years, the small oil-rich kingdom, which is a major ally to the United States, has received criticism for human rights abuses targeting dissidents. In 2011, the military launched a bloody crackdown on protests demanding more political rights from the ruling Al Khalifa family. Low-level protests have continued to simmer.

Slapping, kicking and other forms of physical violence were found to be part of the government's systematic mistreatment or torture of political opponents since the 2011 uprising, according to the government-appointed Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry.

So a recent tweet from the country's Minister of Justice Khaled Al Khalifa talking about a “political bitch-slap” against the secretary-general of Al Wefaq Ali Salman, Bahrain's largest opposition political society, ahead of parliamentary elections was not taken lightly:

عندما خرج السياسي المنكوب ليقول نريد (ديمقراطية توافقية بين الطوائف) عرضنا عليه 666 كفا سياسيا جزاء طائفيته. والآن يبدو أنه يريد المزيد.

— Bu Abdullah (@Khaled_Bin_Ali) July 23, 2014

When the wrecked politician came out and proposed a (cross-sect consensual democracy), we offered him a 666 political slap in reward for his sectarianism. It seems he's asking for more now.

The minister of justice is in charge of the island's political societies; Bahrain bans the term “party” because it indicates an entity that seeks to change the government. The “wrecked politician” refers to Salman, the head of Al Wefaq, who lately disclosed a secret government offer that included dividing the next cabinet into three parts — six Shiite ministers, six Sunni ministers and six ministers from the royal family. Salman had offered to negotiate based on a solution that would be accepted by the country's two largest sects (Sunnis and Shia) in order to put an end to the political crisis.

Al Wefaq refused the offer, and the Bahraini regime responded by suspending all of the political society's activities till further action for “violating the rules of the general assembly”. This comes soon after an American diplomat was kicked out of Bahrain after he met with Al Wefaq officials.

With the upcoming elections, which are considered pivotal for both sides, this move might curb the ability of the opposition to arrange massive protests like the ones of previous years.

The elections, which are set to take place on October 23, 2014, will be the third since the establishment of the parliament in 2002. Forty candidates will be elected to the legislative lower house, while another 40 will be selected by the king to represent the upper house of the legislative division. The lower house has very limited powers as it is overseen by the upper house (called the Consultative or Shura Council), the prime minister and the king. 

One of the conditions Al Wefaq set to participate is to have a fully elected legislative parliament. Al Wefaq had the majority of votes in the last elections in 2010 before it withdrew after armed forces brutally repressed and killed pro-democracy protesters in early 2011. By-elections were held to fill the seats of the resigned members and the opposition boycotted it, leading to a participation level of 17.4 per cent, a figure that showed how unpopular the regime was at that moment.

The second largest opposition group, secular nationalist group the National Democratic Action (WAAD, in Arabic), is also being targeted ahead of elections. It was listed as one of the opposition groups violating government regulations because it refused to expel its leader, Ebrahim Sharif, who is now imprisoned for joining the protests in 2011.

The government is filing a lawsuit against the political society. The country's judicial system was blasted for failing “to deliver basic accountability and impartial justice” in a recent Human Rights Watch report.

Minister of Justice Khaled Al Khalifa explained on Twitter to his more than 38,000 followers his version of what could be the solution for Al Wefaq. The tweets hinted that one of the goals is to change Al Wefaq's leadership:

تم اختطاف الجمعية بتفسير شاذ بنظامها الداخلي أدى الى تهميش المؤتمر العام وسيطرة بعض الأشخاص على اجهزة الجمعية عن طريق ما يسمى بالتزكية

— Bu Abdullah (@Khaled_Bin_Ali) July 20, 2014

The society was hijacked by a deviant interpretation of its code, which led to the marginalization of its general assembly and the control of few people by what is called unopposed candidates

السبيل الصحيح الوحيد لتلك الجمعية هو ان تدعو لمؤتمر عام لانتخاب القائمين عليها بشكل شفاف وإجراءات صحيحة وتنهي حالة فوضى الزعامات داخلها.

— Bu Abdullah (@Khaled_Bin_Ali) July 20, 2014

The only right path for that society is to call for a general assembly to elect its leaders in a transparent way and with the correct procedure and to end the internal leadership chaos

Al Wefaq's general secretary responded to the minister in a press conference, saying that they received an offer from the government to accept ministerial positions in exchange for stopping the protests. He also said that Al Wefaq refused because it will not grant the people the power to participate in decision making.

Al Wefaq's Twitter account, which has more than 182,000 followers, tweeted the conference:

الأمين العام في المؤتمر الصحفي: نقول بالمناسبة في أي انتخابات تجريها الوفاق داخلياً مرحبا بالأمم المتحدة، مرحباً بمؤسسة كارتر وغيرها

— Alwefaq Society (@ALWEFAQ) July 21, 2014

The general secretary in the press conference: By the way, we declare that in any internal elections Al Wefaq holds we welcome the United Nations, we welcome the carter foundation and any others as observers

الأمين العام في المؤتمر الصحفي:اذا أردتم أن تروا شعبيةالوفاق أعطونا الملعب الوطني لاجراء مؤتمرنا العام،هذا اذا كان الملعب الوطني يسع جمهورنا

— Alwefaq Society (@ALWEFAQ) July 21, 2014

The general secretary in the press conference: if you want to see how popular Al Wefaq is then let us hold our general assembly in the national stadium, that is, if the national stadium would be able to hold our audience

الأمين العام في المؤتمر الصحفي: الطرح المعارض يريد دوائر عادلة، الطرح الرسمي لا يمكن اجراء انتخابات بدوائر عادلة، #Bahrain

— Alwefaq Society (@ALWEFAQ) July 21, 2014

The general secretary in the press conference: The opposition propose an equal distribution of electoral districts, the official response is you can't hold elections with equally distributed electoral districts

Gerrymandering to favor the ruling party has been one of the points that Bahrain's opposition have longed complained about. This table (Google translation) shows how the parliamentary seats would have been distributed among districts if equal votes are to be used in comparison with the current distribution.

الأمين العام في المؤتمر الصحفي:الطرح المعارض نريد حكومة منتخبة، الطرح الرسمي لا يمكن الحصول على حكومة منتخبة #Bahrain

— Alwefaq Society (@ALWEFAQ) July 21, 2014

The general secretary in the press conference: The opposition propose an elected government, the official response is you can't have an elected government

الأمين العام في المؤتمر الصحفي: الطرح المعارض نريد مجلس كامل الصلاحيات، الطرح الرسمي لا يمكن.. هذا العرض المقدم وقد رفضناه #Bahrain

— Alwefaq Society (@ALWEFAQ) July 21, 2014

The general secretary in the press conference: The opposition propose a fully elected legislative parliament, the official response is you can't have a fully elected legislative parliament

الأمين العام في المؤتمر الصحفي: نحن نتحدث عن حل الأزمة بشكل شامل لا يبقي شيئاً لينفجر بعد شهر أو شهرين، #Bahrain

— Alwefaq Society (@ALWEFAQ) July 21, 2014

The general secretary in the press conference: We are proposing a solution that will put an end to the crisis for good and leaves nothing to explode in a month or two.

الأمين العام في المؤتمر الصحفي:لا مشاركة لا من تحت الطاولة ولا من فوق الطاولة،ودعوة للشعب لمقاطعة الانتخابات النيابية والبلدية #Bahrain

— Alwefaq Society (@ALWEFAQ) July 21, 2014

The general secretary in the press conference: We will not participate in anyway in the elections, not publicly nor secretly, and we call on all the people to boycott the parliamentarian and municipal elections

Popular human rights activist and ex-prisoner Nabeel Rajab summed up for his 232,000 what the government might do between now and the elections:

الان وحتى الانتخابات القادمة يتوقع ان يقوم النظام بالكثير من الممارسات الجنونية التي تهدف لإضعاف القوى السياسية لكن ثبات الشعب سيكون الحاسم

— Nabeel Rajab (@NABEELRAJAB) July 22, 2014

Now until the next elections we expect the regime to take insane procedures to weaken the political powers, but the resilience of the people will be the determining factor

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Tweeted by photojournalist Lazar Simenov @Lazsim “Apocalyptical scenes in Beit Hanoun. #Gaza #Palestine #Israel”

The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza as Israel continues its offensive against the besieged enclave for the 24th day has so far exceeded those killed in Cast Lead, a three-week armed conflict six years ago.

According to Palestinian Health spokesman Dr Ashraf Alqedra, who shares statistics on Facebook, the overall number of Palestinians killed to date is 1,437 and those injured exceed 8,300 in this round of the conflict, dubbed by Israel as Operation Protective Edge.

Dr Alqedra says 79 Palestinians were killed on July 31 and 350 injured.

Sixty-one Israeli soldiers and three civilians have also been killed.

According to media reports, Operation Cast Lead resulted in between 1,166 and 1,417 Palestinian and 13 Israeli deaths (4 from friendly fire) in 2008/09.

Journalist Ruth Pollard reports:

Toll in #Gaza has climbed to 1418 dead, says health ministry, with 8265 injured. Surpassed Cast Lead. No end in sight.

— Ruth Pollard (@rpollard) July 31, 2014

Since Israel launched the massive offensive against the 40-kilometer-long coastal strip on July 8, their military has bombed residential neighborhoods, markets, schools, a playground, hospitals, shelters and refugee camps, leading to a 75 percent civilian death rate. On July 28, Israel attacked the only power plant in Gaza, plunging the congested strip of 1.8 million people into darkness.

With no where to escape, the number of Palestinians displaced in Gaza could exceed 400,000 people, according to the UN.

This is Israel's third military operation in Gaza in six years. Excessive restrictions from Israel in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank is why most of the world and the United Nations considers this territory “occupied” by Israel.

Follow our in-depth coverage: #Gaza: Civilian Death Toll Mounts in Israeli Offensive

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US-based Jewish Voice for Peace launched a campaign condemning Israel's attack on Gaza which has, at the time of writing, left over 1,400 Palestinians dead, the vast majority of whom are civilians including more than 300 children.

The #GazaNames campaign features dozens of celebrities and activists holding signs with the names of the victims of so-called “Operation Protective Edge” which has been labelled “a massacre” by critics of Israel's policy in the occupied territories.

The statement released by Jewish Voice for Peace on their Freedom4Palestine website reads as follows:

A diverse group of celebrities, artists, and activists that includes American Jews and Palestinians are speaking out for Palestinian human rights in a video released online today. The video is a first of its kind expression of support for Palestinian freedom, equality and justice and features celebrities such as Chuck D, Jonathan Demme, Gloria Steinem, Wallace Shawn, Tony Kushner, Mira Nair, Roger Waters, Brian Eno, and others holding signs with the names and ages of Palestinian civilians recently killed by the Israeli military in Gaza.

“The Israeli leaders seem sincere when they say they believe that their actions are appropriate. Apparently, one of ‘us’ is worth many more of ‘them,’” said actor and playwright Wallace Shawn, who provides the voice-over narration for the video. “American leaders know they are lying when they defend the murder of children in their beds. And we, the public, pay for the bombs, pay for the airplanes, and pretend not to notice what’s going on.”

As Israel continues its assault against the occupied, besieged, and blockaded Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 1,400 Palestinians since July 8, most of them civilians, a growing number of global citizens of conscience feel compelled to speak out against Israel’s disproportionate attack on the Palestinian people. In addition to those featured in this video, a growing number of celebrities have been speaking out via social media about the horrors we are witnessing in Gaza, as reported recently by BuzzFeed and The Hollywood Reporter.

“We wanted to provide a platform for the growing list of prominent individuals who are outraged by Israel’s brutal violence against Gaza’s civilian population,” said Rebecca Vilkomerson, executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), an organization that co-produced the video. “Our message is that securing freedom and justice for Palestinians is the only pathway to a lasting peace.”

“My family was forced to flee our beloved Jerusalem in 1948 and every day since then, we have longed for freedom,” said Nina Saah, an 83-year-old Nakba survivor featured in the video. “What is happening in Gaza breaks my heart all over again. And yet I am so moved by all those who have come together in this video and the outpouring of support I am seeing for Palestinians. It gives me hope that the people of the world will be the ones to change our situation and that freedom and justice will come.”

“This is a scream on paper. This is a wail,” said playwright Eve Ensler, one of the artists featured in the video. “There are no more words. Only this moment where we rise against the illegal and deathly occupation of Palestine, against mass slaughter of the defenseless, against the complicit silence of the international community, against the military might and arrogance of the Israeli and the U.S. governments who choose annihilation over justice and love.”

A full list of participants can be found here.

The current attack on Gaza distinguishes itself from previous conflicts due to it being heavily covered on social media. As Israeli activist Mira Bar-Hiller wrote in her piece for The Independent, “Israel has discovered that it's no longer so easy to get away with murder in the age of social media.”

In their ‘Learn More‘ section, they explain the motivation behind their campaign:

With the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, 750,000 Palestinians who fled fighting —or were forced out—were not allowed back to their homes and became refugees. Since 1967, Israel has occupied The West Bank and Gaza, controlling the lives of millions of Palestinians. Three-quarters of the Palestinians in Gaza are the descendants of refugees who lived in what became Israel in 1948.

For the last 7 years, the people of Gaza have been living under an illegal Israeli siege with devastating restrictions on the movement of people and the flow of food, fuel, and all other critical materials. Since 2008, Israel has initiated 3 large-scale military assaults on Gaza using F-16 jet fighters, Apache helicopters, and in '08-'09, white phosphorous. Hamas has responded with inferior weaponry, launching rockets at Israel.

Over 2,592 Palestinians and 61 Israelis have died (as of July 28, 2014) in these vastly disproportionate assaults, with thousands more injured and disabled. The overwhelming majority of casualties have been Palestinian civilians, particularly women and children.

Palestinians have endured statelessness, occupation, dispossession and a lack of basic rights, while Israel has steadily taken more and more of their land and denied their freedom.

Anyone can participate in the campaign by submitting a photograph “of how you choose to resist, or the name of a person you want to memorialize.”

The following are a few of those that were also shared on Twitter under the hashtag #GazaNames

They have names. The victims of Israeli massacres in Gaza. #GazaNames http://t.co/syYtyA2l3G #FreePalestine pic.twitter.com/AJjwhwIWGe

— Tala فلسطين تقاوم (@Taltool11) July 29, 2014

Video: Celebrities, artists & activists call for Palestinian freedom in #GazaNames project http://t.co/5EqAxBulhu pic.twitter.com/cWQJblEoYS

— Mondoweiss (@Mondoweiss) July 28, 2014

I posted this photo to the #gazanames project. Watch this video http://t.co/B50KFB9ygF then please do the same. pic.twitter.com/H8qf4ejLBa

— James Fellows (@measureofmylove) July 28, 2014

My picture didn't end up in the video, but here's another name #gazanames pic.twitter.com/BzZyRXMrLb

— carolyn (@carolyn_meyers) July 28, 2014

Written by Joey Ayoub · comments (1)
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Graffiti on the walls in Barra da Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro reads, “Genocidal police loves FIFA.” 13 July 2014. Photo by Shay Horse. Copyright Demotix

Are you a Portuguese- and English-speaking expert on Brazil who values justice, equality, friendship across borders and can't seem to get enough of the Internet? Do you enjoy working from home? Global Voices is looking for you!

Our newsroom is unique — it's completely virtual, our writers are volunteers, our sources are multilingual and live on the Internet. Our newsgathering focus is on trending news, freedom of speech issues, online censorship, activism, and stories that are underreported or misrepresented in mainstream media.

The part-time Brazil will write and coordinate stories by volunteer writers and translators, while developing a robust set of sources to stay on top of regional social, political and activism trends.

Primary tasks:

Be responsible for our Brazil coverage.
Write, fact-check, and edit the most compelling and important stories from online sources in their region.
Add relevant context to stories for our global audience.
Keep on top of developing stories, buzz and trends across social media and citizen media the region.
Develop a database of reliable and vetted online sources across their region.
Manage volunteer writers.
Meet deadlines and posting requirements.
Stay engaged with virtual regional group, newsroom and larger community.
Carry out work in line with the Global Voices' community, editorial guidelines, mission and culture.

Successful candidates will:

Be fluent in English and Portuguese.
Have a strong journalism and/or digital rights activism background.
Possess sound editorial judgment on regional issues.
Know who the credible social and citizen voices are in Brazil.
Understand mainstream media, local press and social media dynamics in Brazil. 
Understand digital rights, freedom of speech, and activism-related issues and dynamics in Brazil.
Have proven sourcing and news writing ability.
Possess strong leadership qualities.
Have a strong and reliable Internet connection.
Be available 10 hours a week.

To apply:

Please submit a résumé and a cover letter that highlights your work and explains why you would be a great fit for Global Voices. Apply by emailing us at adminjob@globalvoicesonline.org with your name and “Brazil Editor” in the subject line.

Read 8 Solid Reasons to Work for Global Voices here.  

Written by Sahar Habib Ghazi · comments (0)
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“Ganja at Bob Marley's House”, photo by Patrick Talbert, used under a CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.

The Caribbean is in the midst of a debate as to whether or not marijuana should be legalised.

This past May, when a video emerged allegedly showing Trinidad and Tobago's then minister of sport rolling a joint, discussion was rife as to whether he should be fired from his post. At the time, many social media users seemed to be more inclined to have him fired over his performance than the possibility of his being in possession of ganja. As it turns out, the minister resigned yesterday following public pressure over a corruption scandal.

At the other end of the Caribbean archipelago, the Jamaican government is seeking to decriminalise personal possession of up to 2 ounces of the substance by September — a move that garnered support from the country's Drug Abuse Council.

At the blog Groundation Grenada, attorney and activist Richie Maitland makes a case for decriminalisation of the herb by citing other countries that have made the decision to legalise its use. Grenada is not inclined to be among them because the government maintains that drug-related illnesses are a burden to taxpayers. Maitland's post challenges this argument (illustrated in his graph below) by examining hospital statistics — and he finds that alcohol-related problems far outweigh those involving marijuana.

Graphic showing the difference between alcohol and marijuana-related hospital cases in Grenada, created by Richie Maitland.

Much of the difference lies in public perception: alcohol is legal, marijuana is not. The post also dissects the argument that decriminalistion would be in breach of certain international treaties that the country adheres to:

You know what other international obligation Grenada has? An obligation to respect and affirm the equality of LGBTI people [...] Governments hide behind international obligations as pretexts when they want to avoid inconvenient action while disregarding other obligations with impunity. Emphasizing international obligations is therefore a weak argument against decriminalisation.

But to address the substance rather than the hypocrisy of the argument, this issue has actually been determined by Caribbean international law expert – Professor Stephen Vascianne [...] from Jamaica. Grenada and most of the rest of the Caribbean share the same drug prohibition international obligations as Jamaica. Vascianne concluded in a 2001 paper [...] that it was possible to decriminalise personal ganja use in Jamaica without being in breach of international obligations, once cultivation and distribution of ganja remained illegal.

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Nalan Al-Sarraj Twitter profile picture.

Taking advantage of the brief ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, a group of around 70 Palestinian civilians escaped their homes and attempted to make it to Egypt through the Rafah border only to find it closed and deserted. The group was trapped between Egypt and Gaza up until a few moments ago when Egypt opened the border.

“We started praying and crying expecting to die any moment”

It just so happened that my friend blogger 23-year-old Nalan Al Sarraj, who has been tweeting about her experience living in Gaza ever since Israel launched another operation three weeks ago, was among those trying to escape. The daughter of a Libyan citizen, her mother, she hoped to make it to Egypt along with dozens of other foreigners.

Speaking to Mondoweiss’ Dan Cohen and The Real News Network’ Lia Tarachansky, she described the situation as such:

The situation over here is very scary. We’re more than 70 people, mostly women and children, and mostly they have foreign passports, half of which are Egyptian. I can see smoke and fire, and we can see the explosions very close to where we are. Israel has declared Rafah a closed area so we can’t even get out of this place.

Israel forces started heavy shelling in Rafah, targeting a hospital as well, 90-minutes after the 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire commenced in Gaza. Seventy Palestinians were killed and hundreds more injured in Rafah, bringing the total death toll in Gaza to around 1511, among whom 330 are children.

The following are the tweets she sent as soon as she reached the Egyptian border with her mother, sister and a friend:

I lived the worst terrifying experience in my life today #gaza

— Nalan Al Sarraj (@NalanSarraj) August 1, 2014

I was leaving to #Egypt with my mother (foreigner) and @KayanAlSarraj and @deemameshal and we got trapped in between ! #gaza

— Nalan Al Sarraj (@NalanSarraj) August 1, 2014

The air striking and the shelling were so close, we started praying and crying expecting to die any moment

— Nalan Al Sarraj (@NalanSarraj) August 1, 2014

We were out of connection, open area between the two gates palestinian and Egyptian #gaza

— Nalan Al Sarraj (@NalanSarraj) August 1, 2014

Egyptian border closed because of the massive israeli attack on the area and rafah was dangerous to cross to go back to #gaza

— Nalan Al Sarraj (@NalanSarraj) August 1, 2014

We were trapped under fire and airstrikes.We were around 120 traveler . Mostly foreigners. Crying for help the whole day

— Nalan Al Sarraj (@NalanSarraj) August 1, 2014

Today i ask the world, to revolute over the inhuman system. I ask you to find your humanity and stop #Israel . #gaza

— Nalan Al Sarraj (@NalanSarraj) August 1, 2014

During all of that, we had to run on foot out of the palestinian borders because we got calls that it could be targeted any moment #gaza

— Nalan Al Sarraj (@NalanSarraj) August 1, 2014

We were running crying holding any child could be saved. In numbers towards the Egyptian border. The found out they evacuated as well

— Nalan Al Sarraj (@NalanSarraj) August 1, 2014

The horror we lived ! We reached that point were we hold each other praying expecting the next airstrike on us

— Nalan Al Sarraj (@NalanSarraj) August 1, 2014

Rafah is going through what al sheja'a and khoza'a went through ! A genocide . More than 100 martyrs less than a day #gaza

— Nalan Al Sarraj (@NalanSarraj) August 1, 2014

Luckily, Nalan may find some rest now, a luxury which the vast majority of Gazans cannot afford to have.

The Egyptians opened their border finally . We will be sleeping tonight at their gate hall. Safer than where we were

— Nalan Al Sarraj (@NalanSarraj) August 1, 2014

Since Israel launched a massive offensive against the 40-kilometer long coastal strip on July 8, more than 6,780 have been injured. Israel has bombed schools, a playground, hospitals, shelters and refugee camps. Three in four people killed in Gaza were civilians. On July 28, Israel attacked the only power plant in Gaza, plunging the congested strip of 1.8 million people into darkness. As Israel forces bombs residential neighborhoods, tens of thousands have been made homeless and are forced to take refuge in makeshift shelters.

This is Israel's third military operation in Gaza in 6 years. Excessive restrictions from Israel in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank is why most of the world and the United Nations considers this territory “occupied” by Israel. 

Follow our in-depth coverage: #Gaza: Civilian Death Toll Mounts in Israeli Offensive

Written by Joey Ayoub · comments (22)
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A screenshot of a YouTube video by SyrianZero reportedly showing barrel bombs dropped by the Assad regime.

While the world's attention focuses on Gaza, people continue to lose their lives in Syria, where the government drops barrel bombs in civilian areas held by forces who want to oust President Bashar Assad's regime.

The crude devices, made from large oil drums, gas cylinders and water tanks filled with explosives and scrap metal, have played a devastating role in the civil war in the Middle Eastern country. The DIY weapon wasn't invented by Syria, but the term barrel bomb only became a part of Wikipedia in November 2013, more than a year after the government began using them frequently. 

Enab-Baladi, a group of citizen reporters based in Syria, said in early February that 100 barrel bombs were dropped over Darayya city in one week, killing 18 people. 

Over 100 barrel bombs dropped on Daraya last week, acc to Daraya's local revolutionary newspaper, Enab Baladi pic.twitter.com/NuJycrq7UW #Syria

— abigail marshall (@Aemar_) February 6, 2014

Later that month, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution calling on all sides of the conflict to stop using barrel bombs. The Syrian government didn't listen – Human Rights Watch reported on July 30 that it has found 650 new damage sites since then consistent with barrel bomb impacts on parts of the city of Aleppo held by rebel groups. The website includes interactive images of the targeted areas before and after the bombings.

The European media director for Human Rights Watch, Andrew Stroehlein, tweeted a map of locations where the organization says the government has dropped the barrels. A list on Wikipedia also purports to show nearly 80 documented barrel bomb attacks in Syria.

#Syria govt barrel bombs civilians in defiance of UNSC: 650 major new damage sites documented http://t.co/khA8gBw9mq pic.twitter.com/c5U5Rr7y4V

— Andrew Stroehlein (@astroehlein) July 30, 2014

The bloody battle for control of Syria between forces loyal to President Al-Assad and the factions that are opposed to his rule entered its third year in March. More than 170,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which began with anti-government protests during the wave of Arab Spring demonstrations across the region. 

The U.N. and human rights organizations have accused the government of launching indiscriminate attacks on civilians. Rebel groups have also faced the same accusation, but the Assad regime is unique in its use of barrel bombs. 

On well-known blog Brown Moses, who has followed the Syrian civil war closely, Richard M. Lloyd, a warhead technology consultant at Tesla Laboratory Inc., examined the barrel bomb technology in a December 2013 post:

[...] The main objective of the Syrian barrel bomb program is to provide cheap and lethal damage on urban areas in Syria.

[...] These early barrel bomb weights are around 100-300lbs (45-140 kg) and are ignited using fuse wicks. The soldier lights the fuse wick using a cigar because the wind would blow out a match or lighter.

[...] The single-shot bomb probability of success is 37.5%, which means it would require five bombs to achieve one successful explosion.

[...] The Syrian government over the last year has significantly increased it's barrel bomb sizes from hundreds of pounds of explosive to 2000 pounds (900 kg) of explosive.

The video below posted by group SyrianZero on YouTube, subtitled in English and translated to Arabic, reportedly captures the moment when an Assad helicopter drops a barrel bomb on Darayya in January 2014. The footage also shows a rescue operation of one man trapped in rubble and rebels who threaten Assad with revenge [Warning: Graphic video, viewer discretion is advised.]

Written by Rami Alhames · comments (0)
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An Australian startup last week launched Oi, a simple messaging app along the lines of Yo. But today the startup team got an email from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) saying that Yo wants the app taken down due to it being a “direct clone” that infringes on Yo’s copyright. “We think it’s a ridiculous accusation,” says Chhai Thach, a co-founder at the unfortunately-named Getyo, which makes business automation software.

He explains to Tech in Asia:

Although Oi is a nano social app, its design and features are more advanced than Yo and is purposely designed for B2B [business-to-business] to complement our Reception for iPad app.

Oi (pictured below) has an open API so that it can be incorporated into other B2B apps as well. Thach continues, “While Yo clones were meant to make fun of Yo, we have been looking for a lightweight solution for our reception app to notify staff or co-workers when a visitor arrives to meet with them. Oi does this. When a visitor arrives and checks in, the staff would get an Oi from the reception app.”

Other micro-messaging apps got the same threatening email today too, such as YOLO. The Oi app is still in the App Store right now. “We won’t be removing the app voluntary as we believe it’s a different app to Yo and our API is also different,” says Thach.

We’ve contacted the Yo team on this issue and will update when we hear back.

These days, you can buy literally everything and anything online. From praying mantis eggs to a flamethrower on Amazon, there seems to be no limit to what your hard-earned dollars can get you. It’s a perfect ecommerce world out there – or is it?

Xin-Lung Tai, CEO of Melbourne-based ecommerce platform ShopandBox, doesn’t think so. Having spent a large part of his life traveling to and from countries such as the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Australia, and Singapore, he has identified two major problems with ecommerce today: price discrimination and item availability.

Price discrimination occurs when retailers around the world price identical items differently – often, quite a significant amount. Some items are also not available in certain countries.

He’s right on both counts. Contrary to popular belief, while Amazon seems to sell everything and anything, not all of it is readily available for purchase outside of the US. For example, Kindle products, such as the tablet and books, cannot be easily purchased in Singapore. Buyers are forced to go through a lengthy process of registering a US postal address, topping up a gift card, and then finally using a VPN to download their desired books.

This is but one case. Tai offers the example of the LG G Smart Watch which was not released in Malaysia, but can be bought in other countries such as Japan and Singapore.

The price difference across country borders can be astonishing, too. “A Coach bag, for example, would have cost S$1,295 in Singapore, as compared to US$648 in the US,” Tai says, citing an example of a transaction in progress on ShopandBox. US$648 translates to S$802, which is still a significant amount of saving made.

Buy anything, anywhere, cheaper

ShopandBox is his solution to these problems. In a nutshell, the team’s mission is to enable shoppers to be able to buy items that are either unavailable in their country, or are far more expensive even if they are available.

They can do this with the help of personal shoppers called Boxers, who are locals in the countries that they are looking to buy items from. These Boxers are what differentiate ShopandBox from the run-of-the-mill blogshop and forum mass orders, says Tai:

ShopandBox is different from anything else there is out there as you always deal with a real person who acts as your personal shopper from start to finish. You tell them what you want, where it is from, and they do all the purchasing, consolidating, packaging and shipping of items right to your door step – peer-to-peer shopping, in other words [...] Simply put, ShopandBox puts the power into the hands of the consumer.

In addition, he also emphasizes that all communication between buyer and Boxer is transparent – everything happens on the message board, which can be found at the bottom of the order page. This helps safeguard both parties’ interests.

“All communications, price points, and finer details are centralised on our order page,” Tai adds. “It’s a personalized experience, and most importantly, you’re not at the mercy of the price and item selection of the person organising the order.”

Shoppers can buy anything they want from any physical or online store across nine countries at the moment: USA, UK, France, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Malaysia. Over 2,000 shoppers have made around 800 or so orders so far, spending an average of US$350 per order, according to Tai.

“Traction has been very healthy, especially given the minimal amount of paid marketing we’ve spent on over the past six months – we’ve been very careful to slowly build up both our tech and operational capabilities whilst focusing on targeted markets in Singapore, Australia and Malaysia,” he explains. “Despite this, we’ve still received great interest from shoppers literally all around the world.”

The bulk of orders made come from Singapore (40 percent), with Australia (35 percent) and Malaysia (20 percent) following closely behind.

On the shoulders of Boxers

The ShopandBox platform provides a risk-free way for those who want to try running their own micro-business. “Many Boxers wanted to start an eBay business of sorts, but got scared away by the risk involved with purchasing and holding inventory,” he says.

Accordingly, Boxers seem to do most of the heavy lifting in this arrangement. What incentivizes them to get things done? The answer: money. Each of them gets half of the ShopandBox service fee for every shipment made. Depending on the value of the items ordered, the fee can be fairly substantial, as can be seen in the chart below:

The “Fee Percent” column determines how much Boxers earn.

A whole lot of the work actually rests on the shoulders of this group of people. To test whether they could truly deliver on ShopandBox’s two core propositions – that is, to find items that are far cheaper or can only be found locally – I ordered three items from Japan: an “adorable” giant isopod plush doll which is highly popular in Japan but can’t be found in Singapore; a briefcase cum luggage bag from a local brand named Sanwa; and a few packets of green tea Japanese KitKats which is about twice as expensive in Singapore using US$100 credits (Disclosure: the company gave me US$100 in credits, and I topped up US$50 from my own pockets).

It seems that Boxers do more than what your average personal shopper would – they also act as a “concierge” of sorts. My Boxer, named Jason, made contact with me within ten minutes of my order placement, and held my hand through the entire process:

An excerpt from our long conversation.

Jason made multiple trips to the store to help find my items, and gave me recommendations to make my dollars go the distance. He even refrigerated my KitKats prior to sending them off – world-class customer service, indeed. The items reached my doorstep nine days later in mint, packaged condition:

Check out the mean-looking critter.

Because Boxers hold so much responsibility in their hands, they have to be deemed trustworthy not only by customers, but by the ShopandBox team as well. “Most of them are stay at home parents, college students or retired folk who have time on their hands,” Tai explains. Often, they’re recommended by the original core group of shoppers.

He adds again that transparency is of utmost importance in securing the trust of customers, and in view of this the team has implemented a feedback system that ensures that “no funny business goes on”:

Positive feedback builds trust in the Boxers.

As such, not everyone can be a Boxer. In fact, Tai says that the team has to constantly and carefully balance between getting the right number of Boxers to match the demand from shoppers.

Impressively, the operations have been completely bootstrapped since the peer-to-peer shopping startup was founded out of Melbourne and Singapore in November 2013. Now, however, the team is looking to scale quickly, and are hence looking to raise funds between US$600,000 to US$1.2 million:

As an early stage low-margin, high-volume startup, we’re seeking to partner with the right people who have both the risk appetite and ecommerce area expertise – those who are not afraid to try something different.

Tai reveals that they have spoken to several interested parties in both Singapore and Malaysia, and are currently in advanced negotiations with an incubator that recently listed in the ASX, as well as an investment bank VC in Malaysia with a significant Japanese household name partner.

(Image credit: Flickr user piratexlovexrum)

This article is part of an extensive RuNet Echo study of Russian-language blogosphere in Eastern Ukraine. Explore the complete interview series on the Eastern Ukraine Unfiltered page.

Most of the unrest that followed the ouster of Viktor Yanukovych was centered in Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk, but other parts of Ukraine did not escape unscathed. On May 2, 2014, the city of Odessa witnessed some of the worst violence in Ukraine since the start of the separatist crisis, when nearly 60 people died in clashes between pro-Russian and pro-Maidan protesters. Most of these deaths occurred when a fire broke out in the Odessa Trade Union during the fighting. While Odessa thankfully has been mostly free from street violence since, some of its inhabitants are still very much waging the same battles in what both sides term the “information war.”

Zloy_Odessit's LiveJournal avatar.

Zloy_Odessit, an anonymous blogger whose online handle translates roughly to “Angry Odessian,” is one such inhabitant. He updates his blog numerous times daily with news and opinions about events in Ukraine, with a particular emphasis on the military campaign in the east. Like many Russian speakers, Zloy_Odessit prefers LiveJournal as his primary social medium, in his case, due to its highly customizable interface and “very good search potential.”

Zloy_Odessit began his blog back in March, though he claims he's “no novice to the blogosphere.” He started his blog in reaction to what he sees as “the Russian occupation of Crimea,” saying he writes to combat disinformation and express his own point of view. “The main aim of my blog is to get across my opinion on events in Ukraine to the Russian user,” he told RuNet Echo. “Right now, on LiveJournal, there are exclusively pro-Kremlin bloggers, artificially kept in the top rankings by the mass use of bots.”

Bogging his opinions has earned Zloy_Odessit many enemies, including the Russian government, which blacklisted his LiveJournal page earlier this year. According to Zloy, the action has only increased the number of visitors he gets from Russia.

В Украине привыкли выслушивать все точки зрения, в России же в крови слушать единую, верную и неоспоримую точку зрения, а все остальное от Лукавого, Госдепа, Анунаков и рептилоидов… не важно от чего, но запретное! Табу!

In Ukraine, we're used to hearing out all points of view, but in Russia its in their blood to listen to single united, true, an undisputed point of view. All the rest are from the Devil, the [U.S.] State Department, aliens, or lizard people… It doesn't matter where they come from — they're forbidden. Taboo.

Zloy_Odessit thinks Internet users can challenge the information monopoly in Russia.

Пользователь может становится противовесом той или иной точке зрения, высказывать свою индивидуальную и свободную от ограничений и табу. В конце концов, блоггер способен вокруг себя объединять людей – единомышленников, не готовых пока высказываться открыто.

Internet users can become counterweights to other points of view, expressing their own individual points of view, free from limits and taboos. At the end of the day, a blogger can unite people around them. They can unite like-minded thinkers, who aren't yet prepared to speak openly.

When asked about the prospects for reconciliation between separatists and people who support Ukrainian unity, Zloy_Odessit was circumspect, believing that it may be possible with ordinary citizens of the Donbas, but not with the insurgents themselves.

Я сам был неоднократным свидетелем того как люди ратующие за союз с Россией и поддерживавшие аннексию Крыма меняли со временем свою точку зрения. Диалог возможен, безусловно.но диалог с простыми людьми

I myself have witnessed on several occasions to how advocates of a union with Russia — people who supported the annexation of Crimea — changed their views over time. Dialogue is possible, of course, but [only] dialogue with ordinary people.

As for the fighters themselves, Zloy considers the rebels a criminal group that has seized power with the help of Russian citizens. He also blames local oligarchs Rinat Akhmetov and Oleksandr Yefremov for financing the militia.

Zloy_Odessit has his work cut out for him. Though open to dialogue, his criticisms of the separatists are almost a mirror image of the criticisms pro-separatist bloggers like Strajj and Colonol_Cassad make of Kyiv. Both sides accuse the other of following an illegitimate government that seized power by force and relies on dishonest propaganda. Both sides will continue to tell their version of the truth, but it's difficult to see anyone conceding anything at this point.

Written by Daniel Alan Kennedy · comments (1)
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A graphic video showing the killing of journalist Ramy Ryan in Gaza and an attack on an ambulance and rescue workers by Israeli air strikes has surfaced online. Warning: This six-minute video is very graphic. Viewer discretion is advised.

The video uploaded onto YouTube by Abu Shaar shows two ambulances arriving urgently on the scene where Ramy Ryan is seen covering the situation. About 15 seconds into the video, the first missile strikes the ambulance. Fourteen seconds later, the second missile strikes.

For several seconds, all we see is smoke with residents yelling for help, “Ya Allah” (Oh God) followed by “Allahu Akbar” (God is Great) and “La Ilaha Illa Allah” (There is no god but God), both common cries of desperation.

At 0:40 seconds, the third strike. 0:55, the fourth strike. 1:09, the fifth. The cameraman stands up and we see a dozen men lying on the ground, all seemingly injured and trying to escape towards the walls to take refuge. 1:20, the sixth strike. 1:32, the seventh. 1:47, the eighth. 1:57, the ninth. At 2:00 the cameraman moves again and crawls towards the injured men on his left. 2:07, the tenth strike. 2:20, the cameraman moves toward another injured man who's yelling “Ya Allah, Ya Mohammad”. At 2:40, he captures another man unconscious or dead. At 2:50, he takes cover with a group of injured men. The old man at 3:00 is saying “I can't. I can't,” while limping. A 3:27, we hear another missile.

At 3:50, we see Ramy Ryan on the floor, lying over a pool of blood. He's dead. A man is telling us “Look, look. A journalist. Look.” while showing us Ramy Ryan's “Press” insignia. The man then tells us angrily, “show the United Nations! Show the world! Show the Red Cross! Show the Arab traitors! They are all traitors!”

The missiles have stopped and panic breaks. We hear people mourning their dead. From 4:20 onwards, the cameraman shoots the aftermaths of the Israeli strikes.

A photo of journalist Ramy Ryan, from Suzan Jb Mustafa's Facebook page.

The video started circulating around by local activists and was picked up by Occupy Wall Street's Global Revolution Twitter Channel:

Breaking: Video of Assassination of Journalist Ramy Ryan by Israeli forces today in #Gaza https://t.co/yHiQUwUXGE pic.twitter.com/b1OriMuxJn

— Global Revolution (@GlobalRevLive) July 30, 2014

Jewish-American author Naomi Wolf, who has been sifting propaganda from news out of Gaza along with her followers, shared the following status expressing her indignation at the killing:

And a few moments earlier, she had posted this poem by Wilfred Owen:

 
June 30 claimed the lives of 131 people in Gaza. At the time of writing, Gaza's death toll was 1,361, among whom 315 are children. Since Israel launched a massive offensive against the 40-kilometer-long coastal strip on July 8, their military has bombed residential neighborhoods, markets, schools, a playground, hospitals, shelters and refugee camps, leading to a 75 percent civilian death rate. On July 28, Israel attacked the only power plant in Gaza, plunging the congested strip of 1.8 million people into darkness.

This is Israel's third military operation in Gaza in 6 years. Excessive restrictions from Israel in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank is why most of the world and the United Nations considers this territory “occupied” by Israel.

Follow our in-depth coverage: #Gaza: Civilian Death Toll Mounts in Israeli Offensive

Written by Joey Ayoub · comments (2)
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Images mixed by author.

“We shelled Ukraine all night long.” These are the words a young Russian soldier wrote on his social network page last week, where he published a photograph of military equipment in an open field. When the post went viral, the soldier removed the word “Ukraine” from the caption. Then his account disappeared altogether. Now he claims he was hacked and denies ever publishing the photos.

Vadim Grigoryev's original Vkontakte page, where the post initially appeared, is no longer accessible, as it was deleted shortly after his account started gaining the public's attention. The incriminating post can still be viewed in its original glory, however, thanks to another VK user, Vladislav Laptev, who reposted it onto his wall:

Screenshot of Vadim's original post reposted by Vladislav Laptev, with Vadim's original caption of the photo reading “We've been shooting at Ukraine all night long.” Vladislav comments above the repost: “Don't forget to switch off geotagging when you post photos, soldiers:) This isn't the first time you fail:) UPD: The photos are being taken down, but they're preserved here:)”

Grigoryev moved quickly, but it wasn't fast enough. Using the service Peeep.us, Twitter users made a complete copy of his VK account as soon as Grigoryev started revising his posts.

Сохраненная копия страницы Вадика, уже без слова “Украине”. http://t.co/Y4UxkN3ArE

— Хуевый Эмигрант (@ReggaeMortis1) July 23, 2014

A saved copy of Vadik's page, the word “Ukraine” already removed.

The saved copy includes more images of Grigoryev and his fellow servicemen taken in late July. The photographs’ captions occasionally indicate that they were taken on the Russian-Ukrainian border.

Screenshot of an earlier post on Vadim Grigoryev's VK wall (from saved copy of page), caption above photo reads: “We've been in the fields for two weeks now, unwashed, on the border with Ukraine.”

The Russian website TJournal.ru has produced an excellent roundup of the mounting photographic evidence of Russia's military presence at the border with Ukraine—all culled from Vkontakte accounts belonging to Grigoryev and his comrades. TJournal reporters found other posts mentioning Ukraine, and discovered that one of Grigoryev's VK friends even published a map of their route, which began in the town of Ordzhonikidzevskaya in Ingushetia (a region of the Russian North Caucasus) and ended in the village of Pokrovske, in the Rostov region, on the border with Ukraine.

Ivan Zherebtsov posted this image of a route from Ingushetia to the Russian border with Ukraine – his account has now also been removed, but this screenshot remains. (Image courtesy of tjournal.ru.)

Most of this evidence is, of course, circumstantial, and nothing points directly to Russian forces engaging Ukrainians across the border—except for Grigoryev's deleted post.

The day after he rose to fame online and then disappeared from VK, Grigoryev popped up on the evening news, on state-run television, claiming that he did not post the photos in question. He said he hadn't updated his page in over a month, and that he had no idea someone was posting photos to his page.

Vadim Grigoryev appears on the evening news of Rossia-24 channel on July 24, 2014. Screencap courtesy of tjournal.ru.

Слышу вообще первый раз. Не могу знать… В “Контакте” я был, может, уже месяц назад. Заходил очень давно. Сейчас, на данный момент, ничего не знаю.

This is the first time I'm hearing of this. I couldn't know… I went on Vkontakte maybe a month ago. It's been a long time. Now, right now, I don't know anything.

When Grigoryev heard about the photo going viral, he said his first suspicion was that his account had been hacked, so he asked his relatives to suspend the account.

Возможно, взломали. Я слышал, что бывает, что взламывают “Контакты”. Часто говорят. Возможно, взломали… Позвонил родителям, сестре — сказал, чтобы заблокировали страницу. Ну и всё удалили.

Maybe they hacked it. I heard they sometimes hack Vkontakte. It happens often, they say. Maybe they hacked mine… I called my parents and my sister, and told them to block the page. And they deleted it all.

Grigoryev said the photos allegedly taken last week were in fact several months old, at least. (The pictures from the Ukrainian border were probably taken on an iPhone, which Grigoryev says he didn't have with him in late July.) 

While Grigoryev's page may be gone from the VK servers, similar posts continue to surface here and there online, where they're immediately captured as screenshots by speedy social media users. Just this week, Twitter users captured screenshots of yet another Russian soldier posting online about bringing Grad missiles to Ukraine.

BBC Ukraine journalist Myroslava Petsa posted this screenshot from the VK page of Mikhail Chugunov (the original post, now deleted, is from July 11):

Another day,another #Russia‘s soldier bragging abt attacking #Ukraine. Mikhail Chugunov wrote “With Grads to Ukraine” pic.twitter.com/DKWyGIubXu

— Myroslava Petsa (@myroslavapetsa) July 28, 2014

(Text in screenshot: “With Grads to Ukraine…”)

Fyodor Morkvo captured the comments under an earlier post from Chugunov:

нет сил уже реагировать на этот пиздец pic.twitter.com/5cAknXdDxt

— Друг и соратник (@morkvo) July 28, 2014

i can't even react to this shit anymore
(Text in screenshot:
“- Leaving…
- Where to?
- Where to?
- Vladimir, Ukraine!
- Mikhail, what the fuck for?
- Vladimir, I guess it's difficult there without our Grads:)
- Mikhail, uphold our honor, shoot precisely!”)

Hromadske TV editor Olga Tokariuk also posted several screenshots from various VK users with similar evidence:

More Russian soldiers boasting on social networks they are heading towards #Ukraine via @tombreadley pic.twitter.com/uvkE274r0c

— Olga Tokariuk (@olgatokariuk) July 28, 2014

(Text in screenshot: “Ukraine is waiting for us, artillery lads!”)

It's probable that more of these young Russian soldiers, eager to catalogue their adventures on the Ukrainian border, will be discovered, go viral, and find it necessary to delete their accounts. Some of them might well be fake, but if even one is genuine, the RuNet will have unearthed hard evidence of a Russian attack on Ukrainian territory. Will every new soldier foolish enough to have posted about “shelling the enemy” turn to a “my-account-was-hacked” defense? Will others be able to stay their hand from taking that treacherous geolocated selfie?

UPDATE: Russian officials, it seems, are already taking steps to eradicate vanity military selfies. On July 29, the Russian media reported that Vadim Solovyov, a Communist Party Duma deputy, is working on amendments to the Federal law on military service that would essentially ban army servicemen from posting to social networks any photos depicting military equipment or arms. Highly sensitive information conveyed in such images, the deputy believes, undermines state security and “could be used by the Western media for provocations.” Solovyov does say that soldiers will still be allowed to use the Internet for personal correspondence. And anyway, argue the Russian experts, it's not like the U.S. doesn't already have similar rules for its own military.

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The future really is here. According to a study by the National University of Singapore (NUS), social media is increasingly becoming the tool of choice for gang members to recruit new blood. The research showed that youths who socialise with peers who are friends with, or who are themselves, gang members are highly susceptible to being drawn into the gang. 36 juvenile delinquents of ages 15 through 18 were reportedly involved in the study.

“Seepage between networks of friends can occur [...] which is essentially what social networking is about, except that now it can have negative ramifications for youths who are potentially vulnerable,” explains associate professor Lim Sun Sun, who is also the assistant dean of the department of communications and new media in NUS. “It’s less intimidating, and it feels like it flows on naturally from your friendly interactions.”

One respondent describes, in Singlish, how he was gradually recruited into a gang through a mix of face-to-face and online interaction:

“Sometimes you will have an outside friend [not from school], then when we see that we have mutual Facebook friend then, like sometimes when we go out with them right, then they will see their gang friends, then they talk. Then like that we [respondent and gang member] get to know each other. Then through that it’s either he [gang member] add me on Facebook or I add him. After that, the more frequently we talk, then as you talk you get closer, then you get recruited into the gang.

It is probably not so surprising that gang members are turning to social media for recruitment purposes, given its widespread use among youths nowadays. Some of them even engage in self-promotion by posting exploits of their illegal activities. The police are supposedly aware of such happenings, but are not taking action just yet, especially since these tech savvy gang members are similarly aware that they are under a watchful eye.

By and large, gangs conduct much of their business on Facebook, according to the study:

Facebook, with its many affordances for social networking, status updates, photo sharing and online chat, was clearly the principal tool for our respondents’ online peer interaction.

One reason why youths end up befriending gang members on Facebook is because many of them are fairly unselective and indiscriminate in accepting friend requests. A respondent rationalizes it by saying that “Facebook is for making a lot of friends”.

See: Facebook hits new milestone, now makes an average of $1 from each of its 410 million active users in Asia

Another reason is that many youths perceive being a gang member as ‘cool’:

For example, IR1 [a respondent] shared that someone from his peer network posted pictures of himself posing with illegal weapons and these elicited responses of awe from other users.

Given that social media permeates almost every facet of our online existence, it makes sense that it would be even harder for youths to break away from gang ties once they have joined one. However, Lim explains that it is possible to start a fresh online existence “if you know how to strategically break ties with people whom you wish to avoid”.

Yet, she acknowledges that it is an uphill battle, starting from the moment the youth has to choose to ‘unfriend’ his or her old contacts. One respondent went as far as to say that leaving the gang akin to “leaving my family”. The strong sense of group identity makes it even harder to do so:

To assert a group identity, several of our respondents would add the same prefix or suffix to their individual Facebook profile names, or by including their gang name, logo or ‘secret’ numerical code in their individual profile information

Here’s the good news: to aid youths who have fallen in with bad company, Lim has put together a resource kit that helps educators and those working with such youths to better understand the digital world. This kit has been, and will continue to be, distributed to schools and agencies who work with youth.

(Image credit: Flickr user Jerome Taylor)

From NetEase:

12-Year-Old Boy Strangled to Death After Walking In On Mother and Lover

Modern Express — Hu Wei of Suqian city Sucheng district originally allowed his wife’s “cousin” to temporarily stay at their home out of kindness, never expecting that his 12-year-old son would be murdered as a result. In less than four hours, Suqian police successfully arrested the suspect. It turns out, the so-called “cousin” was actually the wife’s lover, and the murder was a result of their intimate acts being exposed.

July 22, Hu Wei agreed to allowing his wife Wang Qingfang’s “cousin” to come temporarily stay with them. On the morning of July 26, Hu Wei and his wife discovered their son Yang Yang dead in his bedroom and, at the same time, the “cousin” Yang Xiaoqiang had also disappeared. The police who arrived on the scene discovered that Yang Yang’s neck appeared to have bruises akin to strangulation, and at the same time learned from Wang Qingfang’s testimony: “Yang Xiaoqiang actually isn’t my cousin, and is my lover.” At 11:40am that day, police arrested Yang Xiaoqiang at the Sihong Bus Station, less than four hours after the crime was reported.

As it is understood, Wang Qingfang and Yang Xiaoqiang are both from Yuning province Luxi county, have known each other since they were small, and the two became lovers after a chance encounter on a train back to their hometown the year before last. On July 22, Yang Xiaoqiang, who works in Shanghai, came Suqian to see his lover under the guise of being her “cousin”. Taking advantage of Hu Wei leaving home early and coming home late, they had intimate relations. At 8pm on the evening of July 25, Yang Yang came out of his bedroom and happened to see Yang Xiaoqiang holding his mother. Afraid of their secret being exposed, at 12 midnight, Yang Xiaoqiang used the excuse of going to Yang Yang’s bedroom to watch TV to strangle the boy to death. Afterward, he returned to his own room to sleep for a bit, waiting until daybreak to take a public bus to Sihong, where he was arrested by police around noon that day.

(All names in the text are pseudonyms)

Comments from NetEase:

瑞典01 [网易浙江省杭州市网友]：

Lives in your home, eats your food, fucks your wife, kills your son。 There’s a lot of grievance in this one.

刺刀34 [网易江西省网友]：

Kills someone and is still able to sleep for a bit? This guy’s mental/emotional character is definitely not normal. There must be other/past crimes.

會忽悠得天下 [网易浙江省金华市网友]：

“Bringer of disaster” is not enough to describe this woman.

jack2349 [网易江苏省扬州市网友]：

TM what intelligence is this? So he kills the kid because he’s afraid of the kid telling? So murder is less risky than having the secret exposed?

正义鹰派 [网易澳门网友]：

Recommend that the murderer be paraded in public before being executed!

xp932009 [网易广东省广州市网友]：

To brutal! You’ve already X’d the kid’s mother, and you still murder him! The kid’s mother sure is brave as well, even daring to bring him into the home! Now you regret it, eh? This kind of person should just be dragged out and used as target practice!

rfefayrose [网易四川省成都市网友]：

This woman sure isn’t fit to be a mother. Bad women will go to hell.

oaipiqnehc [网易广西钦州市网友]：

“Gambling leads to stealing, adultery leads to murder” is a solid truth.

天一的天天下第一的一 [网易陕西省延安市网友]：

Sigh, a member of the ordinary masses doesn’t even qualify for the accusation of adultery, and at most will get only get moral criticism plus quarreling between married couple.

lbqwerty [网易天津市网友]： (responding to above)

The ancients say that all evil comes from lust, and this case is a great example of what the ancients say.

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Under the new regulation, Thai media and netizens could face punishment if they reported on this photo. Reading George Orwell's 1984 is considered to be a form of protest by the Junta. Photo from Facebook page of Prachatai, used with permission.

The Thai Junta has issued a new order banning media from reporting news that is critical of the government. Issued on July 18 by the National Council For Peace and Order, the order applies to all types of media including electronic and social media.

According to unofficial translation published on Asian Correspondent, the order bans:

- News that are detrimental to the national security or libelous against other individuals.

- Criticism of operations of the National Council for Peace and Order, its officials, or any related individual.

- News or information that causes confusion, incites disputes, or leads to disunity in the Kingdom.

- Invitation or plotting to organise in manner that may lead to resistance against officials or individuals related to the National Council for Peace and Order

- Threats to harm individuals that may panic or frighten the public.

Media groups immediately raised concern about the broad and vague provisions of the order. They also highlighted the severe punishment – legal prosecution, censorship, and shutdown – for violating any part of the order.

After meeting with four major media groups — Thai Journalist Association, the Thai Broadcast Journalist Association, the National Council of Press in Thailand, and the News Broadcasting Council of Thailand –- the NCPO issued a new order that slightly amended the original. The ban will now only apply to “criticism of the NCPO’s operations that have the dishonest intention to damage the credibility of the NCPO with false information.” And instead of being prosecuted in the courts, violators will face an internal “ethics inquiry” by their respective press associations.

The government also clarified that the original order intended only to ask for cooperation in information dissemination to the public and that it is not a new regulation since it merely combines previous policies of the Junta government, which is just months old.

Human rights groups continue to argue that the new orders constitute a threat to free expression since violations of the regulation are to be determined solely by the Council. Given the broad categories included in the order, many fear that the policy will force Thai media groups to practice self-censorship in an effort to avoid punishment. Further, the Council has not rescinded a previous order prohibiting media groups from interviewing academics and former civil servants who could “give opinions in a manner that can inflict or worsen the conflict, distort information, create confusion in the society or lead to the use of violence.”

Phansasiri Kularb, a journalism lecturer at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, reminded the Junta leader, General Prayuth, of his earlier commitment to allow citizens to air their dissent against authorities:

Gen. Prayuth said on his televised program, repeatedly since the coup, to urge those who disagreed with his views to open up their mind and talk, but this announcement says the opposite. The order is very broad and … every comment is subject exclusively to the NCPO's interpretation whether they violate the order or not.

Sarinee Achavanuntakul of the Thai Netizen Network described the new ruling as a gag order against all Thai netizens:

This is basically a gag order, and it's not just a gag order to the press, but it's extending to anyone in Thailand, especially now that a lot of Thai people use social media to express opinions. I think it is very dangerous and, to me, it signals that the coup makers may not have a clear idea of who the enemies are.

On July 26, the Council invoked the new order to reprimand the Manager Weekly in connection to its 251st issue (July 26-Aug 1, 2014) which allegedly “spread distrust and fear among the public.”

The Royal Thai Army launched a coup on May 22, detained hundreds of politicians, suspended the Constitution, and controlled the newsrooms of mainstream media outlets throughout the country. It outlawed the public gathering of five or more people and the holding of protest actions. And it approved an interim constitution just last week. It appears the Junta is doing all it can to stifle media freedom in the face of deep political strife and uncertainty — just when the need for strong, independent reporting and critique is greatest.

Written by Mong Palatino · Translated by Mong Palatino · View original post [en] · comments (0)
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There’s a lot of money going into the gaming industry these days. Most recently, mobile advertising network InMobi announced a US$25 million fund for indie game developers, while Tencent bought over a US$500 million stake in South Korea’s CJ Games. Now, Singapore-based Inflexion Point Capital, or IPC, is getting in on the action as well. They are looking to invest up to US$15 million in promising independent video game studios at an early stage, with initial seed investments of between US$100,000 and US$500,000 per studio.

Alexander de Giorgio, COO of IPC, was quick to emphasize that IPC is more than just an investment fund – it is “a synthetic publisher co-creating independent video game studios”. He elaborates:

As a company, we aim to combine the best elements of a business incubator, a venture capital fund, and a traditional publisher in order to invest in and support the growth of startup video game studios. In essence, we replicate the role of a publisher but provide significant additional benefits without handcuffing the developers with deeply unfavorable financial terms. Our goal is for the studios to become self-sufficient and self-sustaining as soon as possible.

The team is currently focusing on the Japanese mobile video game market, since it’s one of the largest and most profitable markets at the moment. According to App Annie, Japan overtook the US in terms of app store revenue, largely due to the success of domestic game publishers like LINE and GungHo.

It’s also ripe for disruption. “Globally, there is huge demand for Japanese gaming content, and within Japan there is a deep pool of talented creators and developers,” he says. However, they will also be considering related Asian markets, or other video game related plays.

Hands-on, lead investors

If your game studio gets chosen by IPC, expect to receive a lot of attention in all aspects of the business – de Giorgio and his team want to get down and dirty from the get-go. “We are explicitly positioning ourselves as hands-on, lead investors,” he explains. “We want to free developers and designers up to focus on creating the best game possible.”

This philosophy also extends to their board of advisors, which comprises of industry experts who have several years of experience and insights into all aspects of game development in Japan. One of their senior board advisors is Kenji Inafune, CEO of Comcept and the former creative director at Capcom, who oversaw a string of hit games such as Mega Man, Resident Evil, Onimusha, Lost Planet, and Dead Rising, and is an outspoken critic of the current state of the Japanese gaming industry.

Prior to investing, the team will work with studio founders to understand and prioritize their critical short and long-term needs in non-creative areas, such as operations and marketing. Following investment, they will then start to tick off the boxes, bringing in teams of experts as needed – all the while keeping sight of the overall focus on game development.

The team isn’t afraid of taking risks, and in fact readily embraces it in their strategy of only investing in early stage studios – in most cases, at the point of incorporation of the studio. “We want to take the risk that other late-stage investors are unable or unwilling to accept because we believe the potential upside is significantly higher at this stage,” de Giorgio explains.

Officially launching in August, IPC’s typical equity stake will range from 20 to 25 percent, and they are expecting to make up to three investments by the end of this year.

This article was first posted in Games in Asia.

(Image credit: Flick user Toca Boca)

When Ann Khoo, a senior campaign manager at ecommerce retailer Lazada, worked at her previous company, her former boss said he hired her out of pity due to a handicap. Her boss even told her that she had to work thrice as hard for people to believe in her. “Also, while others were invited to attend functions, I was warned not to attend [...] because they did not want guests to shy away.”

This is the story of Khoo’s life. Diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome since she was nine, she faced challenges as a result of her disability be it at school or in the office.

Tourette’s syndrome is characterized by repetitive, involuntary movements and vocalizations called tics, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Despite the challenges brought about by her handicap, Khoo has managed to adapt and find a measure of success. The journey, however, was by no means easy.

“It was especially difficult for me when I was younger,” she says. “It was a huge shock to me as to why my body was not reacting the way a normal kid would be. Then there was the issue of self-acceptance and self-confidence, especially during my teenage years.”

Growing up with disabilities

Khoo’s physical and vocal tics were extremely severe right from the start. On a scale of 1 to 10 for severity, she rates them at 11. Worse still, she had a hard time dealing with the side effects of medicine given to her:

I was prescribed heavy medication to suppress them, so I spent a good part of my high school days falling asleep in classrooms and feeling like a zombie due to the side effects of the drugs. I also developed complications such as trouble concentrating in class and stiff joints where I was unable to write for a while. It was hard for me to study, let alone attend school but thankfully, I had a supportive family to steer me in the right direction.

Still, she was driven to excel in spite of the difficulties, and excelled academically through her schooling years, earning her passage to higher education abroad. Her university taught her that society can be accepting of people with disabilities.

“I learned that society can be accepting if they were educated enough to understand – such is the difference between the West and the East,” she explains. “People were kinder abroad, and the more I was treated less indifferently, the more I embraced Tourette’s as an integral part of me.”

Physical problems continued to ail her during this period, but the university was extremely supportive. “During exams, my stress level would go up three notches and I always sported massive bruises on parts of my body that I would hit repetitively,” Khoo recalls. “However, my alma mater provided me with proper student support, facilities and organized for me to take my exams separately with a private invigilator.”

The support of the school and her good results pushed her to go further in her studies, and she went on to get her Master’s Degree. It seemed like all was right in the world. “I managed to lead a very well-balanced university life, both pursuing academia and having the time of my life,” she says. Khoo even managed to get a driver’s license at this point, baffling those around her since Tourette’s could affect a person’s ability to drive.

A whole new (discriminatory) working world

Back in Malaysia, her ex-company proved to be not as nurturing. Fear of scaring customers away drove her previous bosses to confine her in a room at all times, she shares:

Once, I was caught outside of my workspace as I was talking to a colleague, and I was shot a warning letter by management because of ‘failure to be based at my designated work station’. I felt that this situation was unnecessary and uncalled for, to say the least.

There were several instances where Khoo was told off for her vocal tics, even though they are involuntary and beyond her control. The situation came to a head when she was told to resign her job purely because of her condition:

I was told to leave the job not because of any incapacity to fulfil the role, but more so that the bosses just were not accepting of my condition. Despite the first-hand knowledge on my condition when I was hired, my previous employer made the situation very difficult and had compelled me to be unfairly dismissed eventually. I was also told that if I refused to leave, there will be consequences that will result in me being dismissed in a matter of time.

Khoo was told that she had performed her job well as an employee, but beyond that they failed to provide any further valid reasons for letting her go. When pressed, the bosses used the excuse that she was still under probation, and hence they had the right to dismiss her.

The company in question was in the fashion industry, and carried many renowned brands. Given this, Khoo believes that one of the main reasons for her dismissal was that the execs felt that her nature was not a good fit for their supposedly glamorous line of work.

While she fought hard against the opposition at first, eventually Khoo realized that she was stuck in a vicious cycle. “I could not change the perceptions of these narrow-minded people, and that was when I made the conscious decision to leave for the better,” she says.

Finding acceptance

With this saga behind her, Khoo dabbled in freelance writing for a spell while recovering from a detached eye retinal surgery. Eventually, Lazada Malaysia came knocking on her door. This time, Khoo knew what to do:

After my last experience, I thought it would be better for both my future employer and I if I was open about having Tourette’s syndrome. Why hide behind something that will ultimately reveal itself? I made it a point to state in my resume that I have Tourette’s Syndrome. I believe it is not something to be ashamed of, and it does not limit my ability to work. Still, I feel it is best to pre-empt potential employers of my medical condition.

She also made it a point to ask them what the company’s policy with regards to Equal Employment Opportunity was. “Usually, the reply will then justify whether the opportunity is worth pursuing or not,” she explains, and adds:

I believe, if the employer is open-minded enough, and believes in human capital regardless of creed or disability, this proves that the employer truly appreciates the talent, knowledge and experience of the applicant.

With that on the table, Lazada Malaysia decided to hire her. When Tech in Asia asked her why she didn’t choose to continue pursuing her freelance career, Khoo emphasizes that she has much more to learn before she can be her own boss.

“The process of getting there is a huge learning curve, with many things that I would need to learn from working in a multi-faceted environment. A steeper learning curve allows oneself improve in terms of knowledge and personal development,” she elaborates. “However, I definitely believe that I am a game-changer and a risk-taker [...] with a bit of luck and grit, I shall establish what I can call my own in the near future.”

Fighting discrimination

Today, not only is Khoo gainfully employed at Lazada Malaysia, she is also a vocal opponent of discrimination against people with disabilities in the workplace. On August 9, she will be taking the stage at the TEDxKL event to share her experience with the world and advocate for a fair workplace.

According to Khoo, the first step in combating discrimination is to acknowledge that it is present everywhere – be it against certain genders, races, disabilities, or even when one is able. “We cannot eradicate it, but we can work around it,” she says.

See: Are you sexist and you don’t know it? Why you should ask yourself that if you’re in tech

Khoo also points out that everyone has a right to earn a living, and therefore should know that they cannot be denied employment. “Know your rights, no matter which country you are from,” she adds. “One always needs to be well-versed on the legal do’s and don’ts – do your research and read up on your local labor law practices.”

At the end of the day, Khoo hopes that more people can be educated on such disabilities and mindsets can be changed in the workplace:

More conventional and traditional-minded companies have a zero tolerance mentality towards people with disabilities, and immediately disregard them as incapable of employment without giving them a fair chance.

She admits that eliminating this mindset is a slow process. However, many places in the West – with strict anti-discrimination practices in place to prevent bias on account of disability, gender, and race – have shown that it is certainly possible to achieve.

“Employers should know that disability did not stop Stephen Hawkins and Howard Hughes from being successful,” she says. “We have a long way to go in Malaysia, but we need to start somewhere.”

On August 9, Ann Khoo will be taking the stage at the TEDxKL event to share her experience with the world and advocate for a fair workplace.