Ethnic Media to Politicians: Engage With Diverse Communities Meaningfully - New Canadian Media
Priya Ramanujam
June 17, 2015
If the New Democratic Party (NDP) seeks to truly engage ethnic and racialized communities in this October’s federal election, it needs to borrow a page from former leader Jack Layton’s legacy.
“Jack Layton, before there was any hope of winning any sort of racialized riding, would come out to events and speak on issues that matter,” deputy leader of the Ontario NDP, Jagmeet Singh, told New Canadian Media during a dinner the party held in Scarborough Monday night to mix and mingle with ethnic media outlets representing more than 20 diaspora communities. “[He’d] speak on human rights and take positions on human rights that were actually in line with the community wanted.”
Singh, who was elected in the riding of Bramalea-Gore-Malton in the 2011 provincial election, is known for being vocal about human rights and issues affecting racialized communities – most recently police carding. He says it’s important for ethnic communities to not buy into the “false sense of support” that comes from politicians attending particular cultural events when they’re on the campaign trail.
Engaging diverse communities in meaningful and respectful ways continues to be an area that Canada’s various levels of government need to become better at.
“[T]here’s no doubt that political parties will come just at the eve of an election and show up just at the right time and shake hands with the right people and get the right pictures just to show that they are in support of that community,” he says. “You have to actually look into what they say, what policies they bring forward, what is their message that actually connects with the community.”
Andrea Horwath, NDP leader in Ontario, says her party has a great opportunity in the upcoming election to do the type of engagement work Singh speaks of across the country – starting with the diversity of the candidates themselves.
“I know the slate of candidates that we have has got a number of people that reflect diverse communities and that’s very exciting, but it’s a matter of making sure that it’s not a matter of those candidates in isolation,” she told New Canadian Media.
Engaging diverse communities in meaningful and respectful ways continues to be an area that Canada’s various levels of government need to become better at. Horwath spoke of meeting with a community group earlier that afternoon that serves Spanish-speaking people in North Toronto and their concerns with the government around a lack of engagement in the Pan Am/Parapan Am Games coming to Toronto in July.
It’s important for any political party to not only encourage diversity amongst their candidates but also amongst those candidates’ staff members.
“That’s a failure of the government to recognize not only an opportunity, but an obligation, quite frankly,” Horwath says. “If you’re going to host the Pan American Games and the Parapan American Games, then you have to actually be respectful of those people whose cultures and languages who [are reflected].”
Viresh Fernando, a self-claimed “political junkie” and resident of Toronto’s Thorncliffe community – where, according to Statistics Canada, 71 per cent of the population’s first language is neither English nor French – says the best tool politicians could use to engage ethnic communities is intimate, meaningful dialogue.
“Stop listening to self-appointed leaders and really sit down for a couple of hours with a small group of people and let them talk to you and keep asking them questions without having your handlers around you,” he says. In fact, he points out that during the NDP’s dinner event he would have liked to see Horwath circulate more from table to table during dinner and speak informally to the various ethnic media and community members in the room.
More involvement in the system is something many representatives of the ethnic media collectively agreed they’d like to see.
Further to that, Fernando points out it’s important for any political party to not only encourage diversity amongst their candidates but also amongst those candidates’ staff members. “The political staff tend not to represent the ethnic communities at all,” he says.
Fernando added that he believes why Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne encountered such a backlash from various ethnic communities around her recent sex-ed curriculum – something many members of the media asked Horwath for her take on during the event’s press scrum – was due to a lack of understanding. If Wynne had more diverse voices on her staff, she may not be spending $1.8 million on communication messages around the curriculum, Fernando says.
More involvement in the system is something many representatives of the ethnic media collectively agreed they’d like to see.
“We want to be part of the system, someone who can represent us,” said Mohamed Busuri of the Somali Canadian Times.
“We encourage participation of members of the Filipino community in politics to show the strength in our community,” agreed Rose Tijam, president of the Philippine Press Club, adding, “Filipinos don’t want anything different from mainstream Canadians – work, jobs, housing.”
As the NDP continues to ramp up its engagement with diverse communities at both the political and federal levels with events like this one, there is one thing Fernando warns it and other parties should never do on the campaign trail: “Please don’t insult people by dressing in their costumes . . . do not engage in tokenism.”


Pakistan: Introducing Metroblogging Islamabad · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A new star joins the Metroblogging family… Drumroll please! We give you Metroblogging Islamabad.


Russia: Internet Trolls for the Good? · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Blogger fritzmorgen argues [RUS] in favor of Internet trolls [EN] in Russia. The bloggers claims that rolls help Russian bloggers improve their rhetorical skills, general knowledge and the ability to provide proper argumentation fast in the real life. In Russia, however, online arguments may lead to physical violence, he adds.


India: Influence Of The Social Web · Global Voices
Rezwan

Gaurav Mishra explains how the social web is changing the marketing communications ecosystem.


Our brief in support of Twitter's lawsuit against the US government for violating the First Amendment
Trevor Timm
February 17, 2015
Yesterday, NYU Technology Law & Policy Clinic filed a legal brief on behalf of Freedom of the Press Foundation in Twitter's important lawsuit against the government for violating their First Amendment rights.
Buoyed by the Snowden disclosures that began eighteen months ago, tech companies like Twitter have been attempting to issue detailed transparency reports describing the surveillance demands they receive from the government and how many users are affected. The government has cynically attempted to censor social media companies by claiming that they are gagged from not only telling the public the number of national security orders they receive, but in some cases, even if they have received zero surveillance orders.
This attempt by the government is a classic prior restraint and a violation of the First Amendment. A variety of organizations, from large tech companies to news organizations and others, have also filed legal briefs in support of Twitter in the case.
Threats to press freedom around the world are at an all-time high. Sign up to stay up to date and take action to protect journalists and whistleblowers everywhere.
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You can read the full brief below. Special thanks to the students who worked on the brief: Megan Briskman, Megan Graham, Matt Callahan, and Rafael Reyneri.


Data Verification: ASUU Rejects Inclusion Of Lecturers In Ippis Wage System - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
Abubakar Abubakar
April 29, 2019
The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU has rejected a move by the Federal Government to incorporate varsity lecturers’ wage into the Integrated Personnel Payroll System.
The ASUU President Biodun Ogunyemi, in a letter to the chapter Chairmen of the union, in Ibadan directed members not to fill the said 2019 personnel verification form.
It was gathered that the 2019 Personnel Data Verification Form was being distributed by the Budget Office of the Federation and described the development as dubious.
According to Ogunyemi, while the union is not against any verification, the form for the exercise being distributed requires the supply of “IPPIS number” implying a dubious trap to forcefully migrate the union members into the IPPIS.
He stated that the attention of the leadership of ASUU has been drawn to a circular from the Budget Office of the Federation directing members of our union to participate in a Personnel Verification Exercise designed for selected Ministries, Departments and Agencies. An item on the Form requires the supply of IPPIS No.


Morocco: A Photo Competition · Global Voices
Hisham Almiraat

The View From Fez announces a readers’ photography competition, in anticipation of the blog's fifth anniversary next October. Photographs should be taken in Morocco and can be submitted by email.


Ukraine: Ad Copies · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Russian Marketing Blog reports on how one Ukrainian company has taken its advertising ideas from recognizable campaigns run by other companies.


“Small Animal”: How Language Reinforces Climates Of Sexual Violence In Uganda - Minority Africa
Toluwani Omotesho
April 19, 2024
But first, in Uganda, the Constitutional Court has rejected the petition against the anti-gay law. On Wednesday, April 3, 2024, the court announced its ruling not to nullify the Anti-Homosexuality Act. However, it’ll be scrapping two sections and two subsections that restrict healthcare access, criminalize renting premises to members of the LGBT community, and make it compulsory to report alleged acts of homosexuality.
The judges maintain that the anti-gay law does not violate the fundamental human rights of LGBT people but instead protects children from recruitment and targeting.
Despite the disappointment, the ruling doesn’t come as a shock to many people. Still, it’s unfortunate that the court’s decision further legalizes discrimination against the LGBT community in a country already struggling with widespread homophobia.
Following the enactment of the Anti-Homosexuality Act in May 2023, Uganda has been under pressure from the United Nations (UN), human rights organizations, and foreign governments. In August 2023, the World Bank suspended new loans to Uganda because the anti-gay law contradicts its core values. Many activists believe that Uganda is merely tweaking its anti-gay law as a ploy to restart funding from donors and are calling for more restrictions until the law is entirely revoked.
In the meantime, petitioners are not backing down but will appeal the ruling to Uganda’s Supreme Court.
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Taliban ban on girls’ education defies both worldly and religious logic
“Small animal”: How language reinforces climates of sexual violence in Uganda
Thinking back to her first intimate encounter with her husband, Jane, a mother of four in Kampala, Uganda realises the impact of language and culture on attitudes towards sex. She recalls the jumble of thoughts that rushed through her mind regarding how to handle intimacy.
As Jane, a Muganda by tribe, navigated conflicting messages during her upbringing, she faced the challenge of balancing the importance of protecting her “sweet” (a term for female private parts) with advice from her Ssenga, a paternal aunt tasked with educating girls about sex, on how to satisfy her future partner.
In society’s eyes, openly showing desire was considered inappropriate for a woman, yet she was still supposed to be alluring in private. Her struggles with being the ideal partner coloured her experiences.
Luckily, Jane’s husband empathised with her unease and provided support by urging her to accept her sexuality. After years of exploration, their bond has strengthened, resulting in a fulfilling intimate relationship. Uganda has a rich cultural and linguistic diversity, where words hold great power to inspire or harm. Sexuality plays a crucial role in this situation. Several linguistic traditions in the country, deeply ingrained in the culture, inadvertently contribute to narratives that sustain sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
How football games between persons with albinism and vitiligo are helping fight stigma in Kenya
While pursuing his bachelor’s degree at Moi University in Kenya in 2008, Tom Radido noticed patches on his body.
His family came up with a theory: they concluded he had stepped on ash burned during a traditional rite following the death of twins. To reverse the condition, Radido was given ash to lick, with some smeared on his face. Nothing changed.
It was instead the onset of vitiligo, a skin condition affecting about 0.5 to 2% of the world’s population. It also marked the beginning of a series of discrimination against Radido.
“You go for interviews and from the receptionist, no one wants to look at you twice,” he tells Minority Africa. “There is this interview that I was invited to attend, and I had not stated in my resume that I was disabled. During the interview no one dared to look me in the face, even the CEO, they asked me questions while looking down.”
30-year-old Radido is now one of nearly sixty persons who are part of Royal Patches, a group using soccer to foster the inclusion of persons living with vitiligo in Kenya.
“I feel more confident, and relaxed when I am around [other persons living with vitiligo],” he says. “I am able to express myself freely, I don’t get worried that people are staring at me due to my skin patches.”
Deaf Women In Uganda And Their Struggles With Abusive Relationships
The story is huge news here – and the move by the police has elicited some praise, though others are questioning why there have been no arrests. The priest in question, Nuumo Borketey Laweh Tsuru XXXIII, is a much-respected member of a community that lives in the Nungua area of the capital, Accra.
Sometime in 2019,  a boy was brought to the Amina Dyslexia Center by his mother for possible dyslexia because he kept failing his exams at school.
Anita Nchat Kelvin, a dyslexia therapist who runs the centre in Kaduna, North West Nigeria, suggested that they pull him out of regular school for a year so he could get enough neurodivergent-conscious tutoring to catch up with his peers. She further suggested that the boy’s father come along to discuss it.
However, when the father came, he got upset and threatened the mother with a divorce if she dared to bring their child to a school ‘for disabled children’. When the situation started to escalate, Anita suggested they go back home. Only with the input of other family members did the father reluctantly allow it later on.
Anita recalled that in a span of four months, two remarkable things happened.
“One, the boy was able to read short words such as two- and three-letter words as well as put them in short sentences. Two, his writing became more legible, and the father slowly started to show interest. In fact, the father later brought along a friend whose son showed similar symptoms.”
Hong Kong LGBTQ activists upset at revised ID card gender rules
Hong Kong will allow transgender people who have not completed full sex reassignment surgery to change gender on their ID cards, the government said on Wednesday, but activists are upset by strict new surgical and hormonal requirements.
The Court of Final Appeal last February unanimously sided with appeals launched by transgender activists that barring transgender people from changing their gender on their mandatory ID cards unless they undergo full sex reassignment surgery violates their rights.
The court ruling for activist Henry Tse and another appellant identified as Q was hailed as a victory for transgender rights in the Chinese-ruled city. Wednesday’s announcement comes two weeks after Tse launched a legal challenge over the delay in allowing him to change his gender on his ID card.
Citing the February 2023 judgment, the government said in a statement that if people had not completed the full sex reassignment surgery but “satisfied the revised criteria and requirements, they may apply for a change of sex entry on their Hong Kong identity cards”.
Members of Bangladesh’s transgender hijra community, who were disallowed from attending other prayer services, have been welcomed at a new mosque in the Muslim-majority nation with the promise of worship without discrimination.
The humble structure, a single-room shed with walls and a tin roof, is a new community hub for the minority, who have enjoyed greater legal and political recognition in recent years but still suffer from entrenched prejudice.
The mosque near Mymensingh, north of the capital Dhaka, on the banks of the Brahmaputra river, was built on land donated by the government after the city’s hijra community was expelled from an established congregation.
“I never dreamt I could pray at a mosque again in my lifetime,” said Sonia, 42, who as a child loved to recite the Quran and studied at an Islamic seminary.
Features a roundup of fresh MA reports, announcements, events/workshop listings, and minority content curated from across the web.


1951 to 2014 – How did the Lok Sabha election numbers change? - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 15, 2019
India has had 16 general elections to the Lok Sabha so far. The number of eligible voters went up from 17.3 crores in 1951 to 83.40 crores in 2014. While only 53 political parties contested the first Lok Sabha election in 1951, 465 political parties contested in 2014.
Much has changed in the country from the time of the first general election to the Lok Sabha in 1951 to the 16 general election in 2014. A lot of numbers related to elections have also changed, from voter turn out to polling booths to contesting political parties.
More Voters & Mixed Turnout
While the number of registered voters has increased continuously from the first general election in 1951, the voter turnout has been a mixed bag without a specific trend except the first two general elections. In the first ever general election to the Lok Sabha in 1951, there were only 17.3 crore registered voters and the voter turnout was 45.7%, the lowest ever turnout till date.  The voter turnout increased to 47.8% in 1957. These were the only two elections where the turnout was less than 50%.  Starting from 1962,  the voter turnout has fluctuated (increasing & decreasing alternatively) till 1989. In the elections that were held in 1991-92, the voter turnout further went down to 55.88%, the lowest in the last 25 years. After that, the voter turnout increased in both 1996 and 1998 elections only to drop again in both 1999 and 2004 elections. The voter turnout slightly improved in 2009 while the highest ever voter turnout in the India’s Lok Sabha election history was in the 2014 elections. A record 66.3% voters turned up at the polling booths in 2014. Of the 16 general elections to the Lok Sabha so far, the voter turnout was less than 60% on 10 different occasions and more than 60% on six other occasions.
Nine fold jump in the number of contesting Political Parties
In the 1951 election, a total of 53 political parties contested while this number was just 15 in the 1957 election. The number of contesting political parties remained more or less around 50 for most of the elections till 1984-85. In the 9 general election in 1989, the number of contesting political parties crossed 100 for the first time. Since then, this number has been on the rise.  This could be due to the emergence of strong regional and local parties in various parts of the country from the later half of 1980s. In 2009, 363 political parties contested elections while this number went up to 465 in 2014. By last count, there are more than 2000 registered political parties in the country. In other words, not more than 25% of the registered political parties contest elections. The trend of registering political parties without contesting elections has gone up in the last decade.
From an average of 3 Contestants per Constituency to 25 per Constituency
From about an average of three contestants per constituency in 1957, the average number of contestants went up to a maximum of 25.7 per constituency in 1996. The average number of contestants remained between 3 and 5 for the first six general elections up to 1977. In the 7 general election in 1980, the average went up to 8.8. After 1980, this increased continuously to reach 25.7 in 1996. The Election Commission of India increased the amount of the security deposit from a mere Rs. 500 to Rs. 10,000 after the 1996 elections. This was further increased to Rs. 25,000 in the year 2009. This move helped in bringing down the average number of contestants per constituency to 8.75 candidates in 1998 elections. Since 1999, the average has again been on the rise to reach 15.2 in 2014.
Regional Parties gain strength
The National parties won more than 80% of the seats in each of the first ten general elections from 1951 to 1991-92. It is only after 1992, the regional parties emerged stronger and have consistently won more than 20% of the seats in almost every election held after 1992. The regional/state parties won close to 1/3 of all the seats on offer in 2014 despite the BJP getting a majority on its own. This was also aided by the Congress’s worst ever performance in 2014. In 2014, National parties won 342 seats (282 by the BJP) and the regional/state parties won 176 seats.
Featured image: (Photo Courtesy: iaIGO; International Association International Gulf Organization)


Video game footage shared as US anti-missile defense batteries taking down Iranian missiles - Alt News
Mohammed Zubair
20th January 2020 / 3:11 pm / Last updated: 20th January 2020
“This is why the Iranian missiles didn’t damage the US base in Iraq . It’s the US anti missile batteries. Incredible to watch,” is a viral claim accompanying a video.
This is why the Iranian missiles didn’t damage the US base in Iraq . It’s the US anti missile batteries. Incredible to watch ….Via WA pic.twitter.com/nKJvz94Jtr
— JP 🇮🇳 (@JPulasaria) January 16, 2020
Several individuals shared the video with the same claim on Facebook.
A similar claim has also been used to circulate the video on Facebook and Whatsapp. It reads, “Iran fired 12 missiles at an American base in Iraq…old story. News report that – Iranian missiles missed. What is not talked about is the US automatic missile defense system that took almost all of them down. It’s a battery of 50 caliber guns that fires 3000 rounds per minute at the incoming missile(s). Here is a video of what happened.”
Alt News has received multiple requests on its official mobile application to fact-check the video.
Alt News used InVID to break the viral video into key-frames and perform a reverse-search of one of the frames on Google. We came across a video on YouTube uploaded on Jun 24, 2019 with the description “無人航空機 夜間射撃 フリゲート 搭載 ファランクス 撃墜 シウス ドローン CIWS Phalanx Drone UAV Frigate Night ARMA3 アーマ3 チャンネル登録をお願いします♪♪♪”
In an email conversation, independent video games developer Bohemia Interactive, which also developed ARMA3, confirmed to AFP that the footage is from their game customised by players.
“We are sure that the YouTube video is from ARMA 3, made by one of our players. It should be noted that our ARMA games can be modified (adapted, NDLR) by their users and that people can create their own scenarios with the game editor. As such, what you are seeing in this video is not the ARMA 3 experience pattern, it seems to be a modified version of the game and a custom scenario made by players,” reads their statement.
The video was viral last year with multiple false claims such as “Israeli anti-missile system” and “Russian anti-missile shooting down Israeli missile in Syria”.
In conclusion, a clip from a military-themed video game ARMA3 has been shared across social media platforms with the claim that it shows US anti-missile system bringing down rockets fired by Iran at US base in Iraq.
Co-founder, Alt News
Co-Founder Alt News, I can be reached via Twitter at https://twitter.com/zoo_bear
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The Woelab team has organized conferences with individuals in the medical field in Africa, to get a better understanding of the implications of a tool like a 3D printer in the local health sector and beyond. The vision of the Woelab team is to supply 3D printers to cyber or internet café’s which are widely used in Lome.


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FG’ll Address Nurses, Midwives Concerns To Keep Them Happy, Presidency Says - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
February 14, 2024
Presidentual adviser on health, Salma Anas-Kolo while speaking on efforts to improve healthcare, maternal and child health, promised that government would resolve issues raised by the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, to encourage the medics to put in their best.
Association members had staged protests in Abuja and Lagos to express their displeasure over what they described as an attempt to hinder their freedom to pursue career opportunities.
They specifically urged the nursing regulatory council to address concerns bordering on welfare, salary scale, staff shortages and other rights.
Salma-Kolo, while promising to look into the concerns, said that government would strive to improve the working environment and welfare of healthcare workers in the country.


Cambodian island looks to ecotourism for survival
Rachna Thim
24 April 2023 at 9:53  (Updated on 12 June 2023 at 7:00)
KRATIE, CAMBODIA – Impoverished indigenous people on a large island in the Mekong River are looking at ecotourism as a way out of poverty – and a way to get their children an education.
With many of the island’s children dropping out of school because of poverty caused by environmental degradation, some local villagers have been busy setting up ecotourism tours in their area in the hope of providing more opportunities to the young generation.
On one recent breezy morning, 14-year-old Koy sat on the bow of a tourist boat as it cruised along the Mekong River near his hometown on Koh Samseb, a large island with a community-based ecotourism site in Kratie province, in northeastern Cambodia.
As an amateur tour guide, the ethnic Bunong teenager can earn up to 20,000 riels (about US$5) on a good day. He often spends some of his earnings treating other children in his village to energy drinks and sodas.
While Koy was enthusiastic about his work, what’s notably missing from his life is a consistent school schedule. When asked why he doesn’t go to school, Koy shrugged it off.
“Sometimes during the year, I go to school, and sometimes I don’t. I like working like this more,” he said.
Koy was not the only child missing school on Koh Samseb, which is home to many indigenous communities, including hundreds of Bunong and Kuy families.
Their lives revolve around the Mekong River from dawn to dusk. At least 90% of the communities make a living from fishing. Many also rely on forest products to further their incomes.
With multiple environmental challenges – from climate change and hydropower dams to illegal logging and fishing – the indigenous people cannot fully depend on the river and forest anymore, and are likely to be pushed deeper into poverty.
This has a knock-on effect and means many children will drop out of school because their parents cannot afford to pay for their education, or they must work to feed their families, like Koy.
Indigenous children in Cambodia already face extra hurdles in accessing basic education, which has been further exacerbated by school closures and economic challenges brought by the pandemic.
The community’s development and infrastructure also plays a part. Koh Samseb’s nearest high school is more than 40 kilometers away, and there is no public transport. Commuting to school is a luxury most children cannot afford.
“There are very few kids who make it past secondary school in this village, probably even less than 2%,” said Khut Sam Ol, 37, an ethnic Kuy and the community leader of Koh Samseb’s ecotourism business.
About 80 million of the 200 million people in the Mekong region are classified as poor and in remote areas. Some of the poorest communities are made up of indigenous people whose livelihoods depend on natural resources.
“Tens of millions of people rely on the Mekong’s natural resources, mostly for fishing and agricultural production. But the Mekong’s bounty is threatened to be wiped out by upstream dams, poor land use choices, poor regulation of extractive practices like fishing and sand mining, and climate uncertainty,” said Brian Eyler, the director of the Stimson Center Southeast Asia Program.
“Key livelihood practices for people living near the flooded forest are particularly at risk from these impacts. If their fishing bounty is wiped out, their villages will empty out and people there will likely move to larger urbanized areas looking for jobs. Others will languish in poverty.”
This rising poverty also affects the level of safety and trust among community members.
Sam Ol comes from Koh Samseb and is the father of two teenage daughters, who he had to pull out of school because commuting was no longer safe. He has asked the authorities more than once to build a high school in his village, but has never had any replies.
“When students drop out of school, some of them turn to drugs or illegal activities,” he said. “It is very bad for their future, and it causes great harm to the village’s stability.”
Sam Ol noticed that more children have dropped out of school as the years pass by. Some of them, especially the boys, are likely turn to black economies such as illegal logging and fishing, which eventually creates a vicious cycle of poverty for the many communities relying on natural resources.
A UNESCO report published in 2022 pointed out that even though girls generally encounter more challenges in accessing quality education and make up the majority of out-of-school children at the primary level, boys tend to face more challenges at later stages of education.
Poverty and the need to work are important drivers behind school dropouts. In some contexts, society expects boys to be future breadwinners, which makes them feel pressured or demotivated to pursue an education.
Sam Ol used to poach wildlife for a living until he left his hometown in 2004. He decided to turn over a new leaf when he returned five years ago and is now dedicated to transforming Koh Samseb into an eco-tourism spot.
“The idea is that we can create more jobs for the locals here and we can protect the natural resources too,” Sam Ol said, adding that the economic benefits from tourism would allow children to have better access to quality education and infrastructure.
The potential of Koh Samseb as an ecotourism destination is hard to ignore.
The village is in a prime spot in the Sambo Wildlife Sanctuary, which is a paradise for river birds with more than 218 documented species, including 50 wetland species and many endangered birds. The area is also blessed with a wide water basin adorned with white sandy beaches, uninhabited by people.
This creates a greater remote value for higher-end tourists, who are willing to pay for the privilege of staying in aesthetically attractive and undisturbed landscapes in protected areas.
But the journey towards this transformation has not been smooth sailing.
Sam Ol and his team have faced resistance from many indigenous people who are skeptical about eco-tourism, preferring instead to stick to their traditional livelihoods of fishing and forest products.
The high illiteracy rates among local community members are also a challenge. Because they can’t read, they can’t fully absorb new knowledge offered in training related to tourism businesses. Only 16 of more than 200 families in the village are involved with ecotourism.
The inconsistency of tourists is another factor that makes locals hesitant about getting involved in the ecotourism industry. It becomes even more challenging as Koh Samseb must compete with more popular destinations in the country, as well as overseas travel.
“While there is a lot of potential to explore Cambodian ecotourism, it can’t yet serve as the primary source of income for the people’s livelihoods,” said Srey Moch, a lecturer on sustainable tourism at the Kingdom’s largest university.
“Another way to look at it is how can we support the people through small- or medium-sized businesses which would stabilize their economy better. Then, ecotourism can come in as their additional source of income.”
The tourism industry is a key contributor in Cambodia’s economic growth, with Angkor Wat the landmark destination.
A 2020 World Bank report suggested that a recent tourism slowdown, along with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, indicated a need for diversifying tourism products, including further development of nature-based ecotourism to create jobs and provide stimulation for livelihood building within rural economies.
Thida, a 42-year-old immigrant, is one local who sees the potential of Koh Samseb, despite it being in a remote area.
She settled in the village with her husband five years ago to do riverbank farming, leaving her four children with her parents in Kampong Cham province so they could attend regular schools and have a normal life.
She became the only woman involved in the community’s ecotourism business, taking care of cooking and managing the only homestay on Koh Samseb.
“If the season is good, I can earn a decent amount of extra income for the family. However, we can only run [our homestay] for one season a year [a dry season spanning from November to January]. I can’t totally depend on it yet,” she said. “We still have a lot of work to do [to establish ecotourism here.]”
But Thida, as well as Sam Ol, remain hopeful that they can push forward with ecotourism so the village will thrive.
“We know that we cannot depend on the Mekong River forever,” Sam Ol said. “This natural resource is not going to be there all the time. We have to develop man-made potential too.”
This story was supported by the Internews’ Earth Journalism Network under the grant for reporting on water governance from gender and social inclusion lens.
Rachna Thim is a freelance journalist based in Cambodia.
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Old video is being passed off as French embassy set on fire in the wake of the latest protests against Emmanuel Macron - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 28, 2020
A post with a video that shows a  building set on fire by a mob is being widely shared on social media. The post claims that protesters in Sudan set fire to the French Embassy in the wake of the ongoing protests against France President Emmanuel Macron’s statements on Islam. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of Muslim protesters setting fire to the French embassy in Khartoum, Sudan in the wake of ongoing protests against the statements of the French President on Islam.
Fact: The video is actually of protesters setting fire to the German embassy in Khartoum, Sudan back in 2012 showing their anger over a film denigrating Prophet Muhammad. The video has nothing to do with ongoing protests against French President Emmanuel Macron’s statements on Islam. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Reverse image search of the screenshots of the video in the post led us to a 2012 news article which carried a similar video. According to the article, the video is of protesters in Khartoum, Sudan besieging embassies of Britain, Germany and US as part of a protest against a film denigrating Prophet Muhammad.  And the building which is set on fire as shown in the video is actually the German embassy in Sudan.
Taking a cue from the news article, further Google search with relevant keywords led us to another news video which carried similar visuals like that of the video in the post. Even this video confirms that the incident is of 2012 protests in Sudan. Other news articles which reported the incident can be read here and here.  We also could not find any recent news reports related to the French embassy being set on fire in Sudan. With all these, we can conclude that the video in the post is of protesters in Sudan setting fire to the German embassy back in 2012 and the video has nothing to do with ongoing protests against the French President Emmanuel Macron.
In the wake of the outrage by Muslim countries against the statements by France President Emmanuel Macron regarding Islam, posts similar to the one in the post are being widely circulated across all social media platforms with misleading claims.
To sum it up, the video is actually of protesters setting fire to the German embassy in Khartoum, Sudan back in 2012.


‘Ethnic’ Ridings to Watch on Election Night - New Canadian Media
Ranjit Bhaskar
October 15, 2015
As Oct. 19 is only days away, a quick look at ridings with interesting ethno-cultural dynamics at play will give you an idea of what to watch out for on election night.
It is highly likely that there will be 50 or more minority legislators in the newly elected House of Commons – made possible in part because all three major parties have fielded candidates who share the cultural heritage of dominant populations in several of Canada’s 338 ridings.
While ethnicity is not the only influence on voting behaviour, ridings that have 20 per cent and above of people from a single group are indicative of the effectiveness of micro targeting by the parties. For one, these are large, but focused, groups that can be easily reached through advertising, often in languages spoken at home.
The Conservatives targeted South Asian groups in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and Greater Vancouver Area (GVA) in 2011 with significant success. But there are many indications to suggest that large sections of this heterogeneous group may vote Liberal as the party’s emphasis on issues like family reunification resonate with them.
Ridings to watch in the GTA are all five Brampton ridings and the five Mississauga ridings of Mississauga Centre, Mississauga East-Cooksville, Mississauga-Erin Mills, Mississauga-Malton and Mississauga-Streetsville. Many of them are three-way and two-way fights between candidates of South Asian heritage.
Ridings of interest in the Toronto suburbs are Scarborough Centre, Scarborough North, Scarborough Southwest, Scarborough-Guildwood, Scarborough-Rouge Park and Etobicoke North. The NDP’s Rathika Sitsabaeisan and Liberal’s Bill Blair are the prominent candidates here.
Further west in Alberta, the ridings of Edmonton Mill Woods and Calgary Skyview are the ones to watch as they will decide the fate of Conservative incumbents Tim Uppal and Devinder Shory respectively in three-way fights amongst candidates of South Asian heritage. Calgary Forest Lawn will also be of interest as Deepak Obhrai, a prominent Conservative incumbent, is contesting from there.
In British Colombia, Surrey Centre and Surrey-Newton will witness three-way races between candidates of South Asian heritage. The other ridings to watch are Fleetwood-Port Kells, where Conservative incumbent Nina Grewal is contesting, and Vancouver South, where the Liberals have fielded star candidate Harjit Sajjan.
In 2011, like with South Asians, the Conservatives were able to woo the ethnic Chinese vote successfully. And like the South Asians, some sections of this heterogeneous group are riled by changes in immigration and citizenship policies.
The new Express Entry program and the elimination of the immigrant investor program in 2014 have made Chinese immigration to Canada harder. Expect this dissatisfaction to be reflected in the way the community votes.
In British Columbia, the Vancouver area ridings to watch are Richmond Centre, Steveston-Richmond East, Vancouver South, Vancouver East, Vancouver Granville, Vancouver Kingsway, Vancouver Quadra, Burnaby North-Seymour and Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam.
Further to the east, the riding to watch is Calgary Nose Hill in Alberta where prominent Conservative incumbent Michelle Rempel is seeking re-election.
In the GTA, the ridings to watch are Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill, from where Costas Menegakis, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship & Immigration, is contesting; Markham-Stouffville, where Paul Calandra who served as Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s parliamentary secretary, is contesting; Markham-Thornhill, from where Liberal immigration critic John McCallum is contesting; Markham-Unionville; and Richmond Hill.
In the Toronto suburbs, the ridings to watch are Scarborough-Agincourt, Scarborough North, Willowdale and Don Valley North, where Conservative Joe Daniel is facing a strong challenge from Liberal Geng Tan.
Daniel has stirred controversy by speaking out on “so-called” refugees fleeing Syrian violence, criticizing Saudi Arabia for inaction on the crisis, and suggesting a Muslim “agenda” is pushing refugees into Europe.
As Harper has made support for Ukraine a key part of his foreign policy initiatives, it would be of interest to know how it translates into keeping ridings with significant Ukrainian populations safely within the Conservative fold.
The ridings to watch are Lakeland in Alberta, Yorkton-Melville in Saskatchewan and the Manitoba ridings of Kildonan-St. Paul, Elmwood-Transcona and Selkirk-Interlake-Eastman.
The two ridings with a high concentration of Italian voters are in the GTA: King-Vaughan and Vaughan-Woodbridge. Both elected Conservatives in 2011, along with the other Ontario riding in play, Sault Ste. Marie.
The ridings to watch in Montreal are Saint Leonard-Saint Michel and Honoré-Mercier.
When it comes to religion, no non-Christian community is in majority in any of the ridings.
The highest proportion is in Surrey-Newton with 44 per cent Sikh, followed by 34 per cent Sikh in Brampton East.
Sikhs have been able to rally together to ensure that fellow community members get elected to parliament from ridings where they are predominant.
Being a close-knit religious community, Sikhs have been able to rally together to ensure that fellow community members get elected to parliament from ridings where they are predominant.
The current House of Commons has six Sikh MPs, a ratio well above their population figures.
The GTA suburb of Thornhill has the next most populous religious group in one riding with 37 per cent Jewish, followed by Montreal’s Mount Royal with 31 per cent. In Toronto, 25 per cent of both Eglinton-Lawrence and York Centre are Jewish.
Eglinton-Lawrence is of added interest as Conservative Joe Oliver is in a tough three-way fight against Liberal Marco Mendicino and NDP star Andrew Thomson.
Oliver is one of the most senior Jewish parliamentarians. If he loses, it would be only the third time since Confederation that an incumbent finance minister is defeated.
Statistics Canada says Muslims comprise between 12 and 19 per cent of the population in 19 federal ridings – 11 in Ontario, six in Quebec and two in Alberta.
In the 2011 elections, 21 ridings in Ontario with notable Muslim populations were won by the smallest of margins.
According to non-partisan organization The Canadian Muslim Vote, had Muslims voted in greater numbers they could have been a deciding factor in determining who got elected.
High Muslim voter turnout could make a significant difference not only in ridings with high Muslim populations such as Don Valley East and Mississauga Centre, but also in key ridings in Calgary and Edmonton.
Other ridings with significant ethno cultural factors at play include Spadina-Fort York in Toronto, where Liberal star Adam Vaughan is fighting NDP star Olivia Chow.
The three Etobicoke ridings in Toronto are also significant as Ukrainian, Somali, South Asian and Ahmadiyya Muslim groups have influence in the area.
For the Conservatives, winning these ridings is important to maintain presence in a city that has been traditionally carved out between the Liberals and the NDP.
But the electoral fights in all of the above ridings indicate that the days of any one party monopolizing certain ethno-cultural votes have ended. These groups are now voting like the rest of Canadians without regard to narrow cultural or ethnic identities.
Ranjit is a Toronto-based writer with interest in Canadian civic affairs, immigration, the environment and motoring. Maytree and Al Jazzera English alumnus.


Bahrain: Super Rich Gulfies · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini Esra'a discusses what it means to be a Gulf national abroad.


San Francisco's criminal investigation of a journalist for 'conspiracy' is a shocking attack on press freedom
Freedom of the Press Foundation
May 22, 2019
San Francisco police raiding journalist Bryan Carmody's home earlier this month.
The San Francisco Police Chief announced yesterday, May 21, that freelance journalist Bryan Carmody — who had his home raided as part of a police investigation into a confidential source — is the subject of a criminal investigation.
In a shocking press freedom violation two weeks ago, San Francisco police invaded Carmody’s home with their guns drawn, seized his reporting materials and equipment worth thousands of dollars, and handcuffed him for over six hours. The warrant police received from a judge to conduct the raid most likely violated California’s journalist shield law, and the city has so far provided no justification for why they ignored the binding statute’s clear language.
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While providing zero evidence that his actions went beyond constitutionally protected newsgathering activities, San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said yesterday that Carmody is being investigated as a potential ‘co-conspirator’ in the leak of a police report about the late public defender Jeff Adachi’s death earlier this year.
Freedom of the Press Foundation Executive Director Trevor Timm issued the following statement:
It was already appalling that the San Francisco police raided a journalist’s home and confiscated his belongings in violation of the law. Investigating Carmody directly for criminal charges for merely obtaining a leaked document is beyond the pale, and it strikes at the heart of the First Amendment. These actions constitute a huge abuse of power, and it’s especially ironic that civil liberties advocates’ worst fears about press freedom during the Trump administration are coming to fruition in San Francisco. Reporters like Bryan Carmody have a responsibility to gather news and protect confidential sources — that isn’t a ‘conspiracy.’ That’s journalism.
Freedom of the Press Foundation will have more on this story as it develops.


Kuwait: Factory Fire · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Blogger Mathai from Kuwait writes about a summer fires he saw in an industrial area. He shares a photograph.


Abu Hadeed: Egypt’s first Computer Game · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

Abu Hadeed is Egypt's first original computer game. Zeinobia writes about the copyrights issues and the concept saying:”It is the first game to be based upon an Egyptian cinematic character. Originally it was based on Boha, the hero of comedian Mohamed Saad’s film “Boha”. It is an odd choice to me because Boha was more like an idiot butcher in the end.”


Myanmar: Persecution continues · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Disappointed over the failure of UN officials to promote reforms in Myanmar, Ashin Metacarra writes: “I wonder why most of the world seems content to be merely on-lookers for the Burmese people who are being persecuted.”


Afghanistan: National Army Review · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Afghanistanica reviews a recent Asia Foundation's public opinion research on the state of Aghanistan's National Army.


Oil Price: Senate Invites Zainab, Sylva, Emefiele - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
March 18, 2020
The Senate has invited the ministers of petroleum Timipre Sylva and his Finance counterpart, Zainab Ahmed to  find ways of saving the country’s economy from distress in the face of falling oil prices due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has also been invited by the lawmakers who have  called for fuel subsidy removal and naira devaluation as part of measures to stem the looming economic crisis caused by the spread of the Coronavirus.
The Senate says a review of the Appropriation Act 2020 as passed by the National Assembly was inevitable in the face of the prevailing global impact of the pandemic.
Already, oil price, especially the Brent, Nigeria’s specie, has dropped to under 30 dollars, about 50 per cent loss in revenue, going by the 57 dollars benchmark the 2020 Appropriation Act was hinged upon.
The World’s leading oil groups, International EnergyAgency IEA and the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries OPEC haveequally expressed worry about the continued fall of oil price in theinternational market.


Turks & Caicos: Self-Governance Limbo  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“An election to return self governance for the Turks and Caicos Islands has been postponed…extending London’s direct rule over the Caribbean dependency”: Repeating Islands re-posts the details.


Local government retaliation through public notice contracts must end
Caitlin Vogus
December 12, 2023
Local news outlets around the country are losing an important source of funding, as government officials withdraw contracts to publish public notices, sometimes in retaliation for critical reporting. woman reading newspaper by rawpixel.com is licensed under CC0 1.0.
The Reporter, a weekly newspaper in upstate Delhi, New York, had been publishing government notices for more than a century when Delaware County government officials yanked the notices away, allegedly in retaliation for the paper’s reporting. Now, the Reporter is suing.
It’s part of an alarming trend: Government officials are turning contracts to print official notices — an important source of revenue for many news outlets — into a carrot or stick to control news coverage. And since we last wrote about it, several other disturbing examples have come to light or developed further.
Threats to press freedom around the world are at an all-time high. Sign up to stay up to date and take action to protect journalists and whistleblowers everywhere.
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When the Delaware County Board of Supervisors revoked The Reporter’s designation as the official county newspaper in spring 2022 — and with it, the money the paper received to print local laws and notices — it said that the change was because of increased prices and the time it took to place the notices in the paper.
But a year later, the county changed its tune. The board of supervisors and other government employees sent a letter to The Reporter demanding that it change how it covers the county. They also admitted that their displeasure with the newspaper’s coverage was one of the reasons its designation was revoked.
Revoking the designation wasn’t the only step the county took against the paper. It also gagged county employees from speaking to The Reporter’s journalists. Just five days after a story in The New York Times about the decision to remove The Reporter’s designation, the county attorney issued a directive to county employees requiring that any communications or requests for comment from The Reporter be sent to her office.
The Reporter’s lawsuit challenging the revocation of its designation also argues that the gag order directive violates both its First Amendment rights and those of county employees who want to speak with the newspaper. Other courts have held that similar gag orders violate the First Amendment, even when they’re not issued in retaliation for critical coverage.
The press has a First Amendment right to gather information from government employees who want to speak to them. Those employees also have a constitutional right to speak about matters of public concern without their employer’s permission.
The outcome of The Reporter’s lawsuit could be important for other New York newspapers facing similar retaliation. Earlier this year, for example, the Putnam County legislature voted to revoke The Putnam County News and Recorder’s contract to publish county legal notices. The vote followed disputes between the newspaper and a newly elected county executive over The News and Recorder’s “highly critical” coverage of the executive’s administration.
In Kansas — a state that recently embarrassed itself on the national stage for other press freedom violations — an advisory opinion issued by Attorney General Kris Kobach this summer said that smaller cities could exempt themselves from a state law requiring official notices to be printed by a designated newspaper.
As a result, several Kansas cities have voted to remove official notices from their local newspapers. For example, the city of Hillsboro decided in October to stop publishing public notices in the Hillsboro Star-Journal. The city of Westmoreland has done the same with respect to its local paper. Notices will instead be posted on government websites.
The loss of this revenue can threaten the existence of local news outlets serving the smallest communities. It also harms transparency. Unlike the permanent public record created when government notices are published in an independent newspaper, notices printed on government websites could be altered by agencies or officials.
Meanwhile, in Ohio, the state already passed a new law over the summer allowing municipalities to publish public notices on their own websites, rather than designated newspapers. Because the law was snuck into a budget bill more than 6,000 pages long, it went mostly unnoticed.
It hasn’t gone without impact, however. At least one Ohio municipality is already considering removing public notices from the local newspaper and publishing them on a government website instead. The Ohio legislature is also considering another bill that would allow counties, villages, or townships — which are not covered by the new law — to publish their public notices online as well.
If this new bill passes, it will further undermine revenue for local newspapers serving small communities. It will also give more jurisdictions in Ohio a powerful tool to use against newspapers whose coverage they dislike, just as has happened elsewhere around the country.
Public notices provide a small but steady income stream for many community news outlets, which often operate on a financial razor’s edge. That makes them especially vulnerable to government officials who use public notices contracts to retaliate, or to misguided attempts to “update” the law to encourage notices to be published online.
Finding ways to shore up funding for local news would go a long way toward solving this problem. One thing Congress could do is pass the Community News and Small Business Support Act, a bipartisan bill that would give tax credits to small businesses that advertise in local media and a payroll tax credit to local news outlets that employ reporters in their communities.
Of course, what local lawmakers must do is stop using public notice contracts to illegally retaliate against the press. We hope Delaware County will soon do so on its own. If not, the courts must make it.


Fact-check: Did Uttaranchal University mandate saffron scarf at convocation ceremony? - Alt News
Priyanka Jha
25th March 2021 / 6:57 pm
Social media users have been sharing a photo purportedly of Uttaranchal University students at their convocation. They claim that the students were asked to wear saffron at the ceremony instead of the usual black gowns and caps. Mukesh Chauhan, who identifies himself as the vice president of BJP Greater Noida, first made the claim on Twitter on March 17.
उतंराचल यूनिवर्सिटी उत्तराखन्ड मे अंग्रेजों के जमाने से चली आ रही परम्परा को यूनिवर्सिटी ने खत्म करते हुये दीक्षांत समारोह मे इस वर्ष काले कोट और काले टोप की जगह सभी स्टुडेन्ट को भगवा पहनाकर डिग्रियां दी।#जय_सनातन_धर्म 🚩#एक_नये_भारत_का_उदय @dr_maheshsharma pic.twitter.com/441FMd9IQB
— Mukesh Chauhan BJP (@iMukeshBJP) March 17, 2021
On March 19, ETV Uttarakhand similarly reported, “This was the first time that the Uttaranchal University students sported light yellow plain kurtas and saffron scarves at their convocation, replacing black gowns and caps. This initiative by the university is garnering appreciation all over the country as well as in the state.” (Archive link)
According to the Uttaranchal University website, the institute’s first convocation took place in February 2020. Several photos from the occasion can also be found on the site that show the students sporting scarves of multiple colours.
The university’s Twitter handle also posted similar photos on February 29, 2020.
Grand Celebration of First Convocation Ceremony at Uttaranchal University 59 Gold Medals, 16 Doctorate (Ph.D.) and 2668 received Degrees.https://t.co/oHOnvUeLHR#UttaranchalUniversity #GrandCelebration #FirstConvocationCeremony #GoldMedals #Doctorate #Degrees pic.twitter.com/Vo29kN9ac7
— Uttaranchal University Dehradun Official (@UUDehradun) February 29, 2020
Coming to the viral photo, we found that this is indeed a picture of the students of Uttaranchal University. We came across another picture of the female student seen in the viral photo on the institute’s website.
Apart from this, the convocation images on the website indicate that Uttaranchal University has not mandated a single colour as part of the dress code. In addition to saffron, blue and maroon scarves were also worn by the students.
We reached out to Uttaranchal University and were informed that the convocation ceremony does not mandate students to wear a single colour. Different colours are assigned to students from different departments. One of the pictures from the ceremony where students can be spotted in saffron was picked up and shared with a false claim.
Was Indian wear the dress code for the first time?
In July 2015, UGC Secretary Dr. Jaspal S. Sandhu wrote a letter to all universities and asked them to consider handloom garments as formal wear on occasions like convocation ceremony. The letter states that not only are handloom textiles an integral part of the country’s rich culture and heritage, but they also provide livelihoods to lakhs of rural Indians.
In October 2018, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar had appealed to all universities to ask students to wear Indian wear instead of British-inspired garments at their convocation ceremonies.
Universities in India have taken such decisions even before the BJP government came to power. In 2013, IIT-BHU students adopted Indian traditional wear for their graduation, ditching the old custom of wearing black gowns.
Since 2012, traditional ethnic wear has been part of the convocation dress code at IIIT Hyderabad. It also mentions the names of some Khadi ashrams and handloom houses where these can be purchased.
The claim about Uttaranchal University making saffron attire a part of their convocation dress code is false. Furthermore, this wasn’t the first time that a university made traditional wear the dress code for its convocation ceremony. ETV Uttarakhand promoted the false claim in a misreport. Alt News had debunked a similar claim in 2019 when viral messages alleged that students of IIT Varanasi wore traditional attire instead of black gowns at their convocation.
The claim gathered traction after Mukesh Chauhan’s tweet, with many suggesting that Uttaranchal University ended the colonial-era tradition of black gowns and caps by mandating saffron attire at this year’s function. The picture is viral on Twitter.
One Rakesh Thiyya posted the photo on March 18, drawing 10,000 likes as of this writing. (Archive link)
Uttaranchal University in Uttarakhand ends the British era practice of wearing black gowns and caps on graduation day. Instead students wore kurta and saffron scarf. pic.twitter.com/8SGki0bI9u
— Rakesh Thiyya (@ByRakeshSimha) March 18, 2021
It also made its way to Facebook. The post below received more than 6,000 likes.
The viral photo and claims are being circulated on Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp. We also received a request to fact-check it on the Alt News WhatsApp number.
She specializes in information verification, examining mis/disinformation, social media monitoring and platform accountability. Her aim is to make the internet a safer place and enable people to become informed social media users. She has been a part of Alt News since 2018.
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Election 2021: Meet the school board candidates for District 4 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Sam Woods
February 10, 2021
Aisha Carr, Cheryl Hayes, Dana Kelley and Victor Nwagbaraocha.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the university where Aisha Carr received her master’s in educational leadership and policy analysis.
Four of the nine seats on the Milwaukee Board of School Directors are up for reelection.
In District 4, which includes parts of the Midtown, Lindsay Heights, Martin Drive and Metcalfe Park neighborhoods, four candidates will be on the ballot for the Feb. 16 primary. Two of those candidates will move on to the general election on April 6.
Early voting is open at City Hall until 5 p.m. Friday.  You can find your Election Day polling place here.
Here is biographical information for candidates and answers to five questions posed by NNS. Answers have been summarized for brevity, but you can find each candidate’s full answer here: Aisha Carr, Dana Kelley, Victor Nwagbaraocha and Cheryl Hayes.
(Photo provided by Aisha Carr)
33
2819 N. 2St., Milwaukee WI 53212
Master’s in educational leadership and policy analysis at UW-Madison; master’s in urban special education at Cardinal Stritch University
Opportunity Youth Re-Engagement Director at Silver Spring Neighborhood Center
Ran for Milwaukee School Board District 4 in 2017
: State Rep. Evan Goyke, Zion Rodgers (Rufus King High School student), Andre Lee Ellis
Dana Kelley
(Photo provided by Dana Kelley)
: 45
: 2969 N. 45th Street, Milwaukee WI 53210
: Graduate of North Division H.S.; associates in biblical studies, Midwest Bible College
: Co-Op Organizer of North Side Rising, Citizen Action of WI; assistant pastor, The Reviving Faith Movement
: None
: Milwaukee Teacher’s Education Association, Milwaukee Democratic Socialists of America
Victor Nwagbaraocha
(Photo provided by Victor Nwagbaraocha)
: 58
: P.O. Box 05486, Milwaukee WI 53205
: Master’s in educational leadership from UW-Milwaukee; bachelor’s in special education from UW-Milwaukee
: Special education teacher in elementary, middle and high school, diagnostic teacher, elementary and middle school
-Designated vocational instructor, high school
-Founder of an educational nonprofit organization, Positive Images Inc.
-Member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc.
-Member of the Knights of Peter Claver
: None
: Director Annie Woodward, Protellus, Verify Me Now
Cheryl Hayes
(Photo provided by Cheryl Hayes)
71
2222 W. Walnut St., Milwaukee 53205
Master’s in urban education from Mt. Mary University
Retired MPS educator
None
: Dream Gunther, Joyce and Joe Ellwanger, Attorney James Hall, Syvell Hugo Hall, Deli 1614, Lucia and Jack Murtaugh and Rev. Michelle Townsend de Lopez
: “I am running because representation matters. With over 80% of the MPS student body population identifying as Black and Brown youth who reflect diversity in age, generation and culture, it is my belief that in order to adequately provide each student with a high quality educational experience, we must deliver quality instruction from the lens of which each student can closely identify with.”
: “I am running for MPS board District 4 because our community of color needs a change in the education presented to them. District 4 is the most marginalized and disproportionate community that lacks resources, revenue and support from policy and lawmakers. Therefore, I plan to ensure a quality education to children of color through music, arts and mental health professionals being in all schools for a holistic educational approach. I also want to hold charter schools accountable for continued funding through an accountability clause that measures each school’s success where they must offer a curriculum that is different from MPS and offers a higher quality of education than MPS.”
: “I want to make Milwaukee Public Schools a tier one educational destination for our students and families. I believe that our educational system can do better for our children and families. I want to be part of an educational body that strives to:
: “I believe I can address many of the inequities at MPS more effectively as a school board member. After 20 years of teaching for Milwaukee Public Schools, I am aware of issues that need to be addressed. I will vote for positive policies that affect the children, staff and families of Milwaukee School District 4. I currently have grandchildren and other family members who attend Milwaukee Public Schools. A love for children, my family and my community make improvement of Milwaukee Public Schools my self-interest.”
Carr: “For almost six years, I served as a special education and English co-teacher in Milwaukee Public Schools. During that time, I led two district-wide piloted initiatives — the Black Lives Matter resolution to train, promote and teach equity and inclusion, and the Restorative Practice program to encourage leaders, educators and students to understand and resolve conflict and adversity in any capacity. Prior to becoming an educator, I served as a Community Learning Center director with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee in the same school that I would later teach at. I’ve worked as a legislative staffer on Capitol Hill for former Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold and have worked with youth and young adults nationwide in other capacities.”
: “I am qualified especially for this seat because I genuinely care about the life and longevity of MPS and its students. I am an alumni of MPS and very proud of the educational experience I received through North Division and other Milwaukee Public Schools. I work as a co-op organizer of North Side Rising, for Citizen Action of WI, where we fight for political, economic, and racial and climate equity and justice. I stood up against We Energies and the PSC this past summer and was successful in getting the utilities [disconnection] moratorium extended throughout WI.”
: “I am a retired special education teacher and administrator with over 30 years of experience in the Racine Unified and Milwaukee Public School districts. As a first-generation immigrant, my parents and community installed in me the belief in being a lifelong learner, and a servant leader in my community. I have worked and engaged in the urban educational framework in the classroom, on the playground, in the community and political areas through my work as a parent, union representative and community advocate.”
: “I have been a resident of the Milwaukee Inner City since 1970. A former welfare recipient, I am a single parent of five. I have been a Habitat for Humanity homeowner since 1989. My professional experiences are as an outreach home detention case manager; community organizer; church-based leader with MICAH as a member of Cross Lutheran Church; and extensive service to youth as the cofounder-coordinator of a youth support group for 22 years. I taught at Milwaukee Public Schools from 1998-2020. Prior to teaching I was a community leader and activist. I have developed relationships which will enable me to negotiate and collaborate with those who are willing to aid in creating effective changes in our MPS schools.”
: “To name a few, some of the most important issues facing the board and District 4 in particular are: COVID-19 reopening plan; racial/social/academic/economic disparities impacting students throughout the city; the recruitment and retention of Black and Brown educators; overworked, under-resourced, under-compensated educators; underutilization and vacancy of MPS buildings; inequitable funding; increased accountability for the district’s traditional and charter schools; punitive disciplinary policies; support for culturally responsive curriculums, etc.”
Kelley: “The most important issues facing the board and District 4 in particular is equality. Privatization plays a big role in that. Therefore, we must work and fight against parasitic privatization which sucks the life out of MPS. We lack support, revenue and resources. There are misallocations and misappropriations of funding and support for teachers, parents and students. We must follow the money and rectify the problem of lack in our district. We must also work to encourage parents to bring their children back to MPS. We have to strengthen our curriculum and support for the district, staff, students and parents alike.”
: “The most important issues facing the board and District 4:
: “There are a number of issues which need to be addressed within the Milwaukee Public School district. There are two issues of importance I would like to see addressed. The first is low academic scores of our students throughout the district. The second is enrollment and attendance. These two issues have become more intense since the COVID-19 pandemic. Once the schools are opened to in-person learning, students will need additional services to improve academics. The district will need to make available resources for tutoring. I propose after-school programming and weekend tutoring. I also propose summer school at numerous locations to allow students the opportunity to earn extra credit or pass failed course work. There will be a need for smaller classroom sizes to ensure social distancing, due to COVID-19.”
report
: I am not satisfied with the district’s efforts to address the disproportionate discipline of Black male students. In order to create a more equitable, racially just and restorative district, the district must practice consistency, urgency and transparency in its deliverance of equity and inclusion training, policies, practices as well as progress monitoring. It’s a step in a positive direction to lay out plans for racially equitable, inclusive and restorative disciplinary practices. However, it’s another thing to actually implement those named practices throughout the district, holding each and every professional accountable to those policies and procedures.
: “Being the mother of two sons, I definitely do not agree with the disproportionate disciplining of Black male students. I fought hard to keep my sons from being labeled and caught up in the system. But many parents are not as fortunate as I have been in advocating for their child’s educational and criminal justice. The school-to-prison pipeline is very real in communities of color and continually perpetuated due to lack of social development funding in our community. We are rewarded with more police instead of resources for rehabilitation, moral and social development and just plain fun. Our suburban communities do not have this same problem of lack for their youth and this is why the grass looks greener on the other side. Any grass that is not watered will wither and die.”
: “I would advocate for transparency as the district moves forward towards:
: “The district is making efforts to address disproportionate disciplining of Black male students, but it is a very slow process. During my last years as a teacher at an alternative high school, our professional development sessions emphasized the need for other means to be put in place to replace suspension and expulsion of minority males. A program in collaboration with a community-based organization was implemented at the school to reduce the injustices to students of color. It lasted one year. It showed signs of a positive approach. However, the district did not renew the contract. I want to see the district attempt this approach again with more schools. I would definitely bring the proposal to the district when elected to the school board.
“I would also propose that the district contract more Violence Free Zone teams for schools in the 4th District. I have witnessed the team mediators as very effective in deterring violence among students. They are able to identify and diffuse negative situations in a proactive approach rather than a reactive approach. They are a positive replacement for having police in the schools.”
: “It is my belief that school should remain virtual for the remainder of the 2020-21 academic school year. Instead of having students back for a month of instruction, putting everyone at risk for contracting the COVID-19 virus, this time should be spent revising each school’s budget, allocating funding to train educators, support staff, administrators, students and families for extensive, rigorous, high-quality summer and fall academic instruction. For some, the resources will be present to provide quality academic enrichment support, thus keeping those students on a trajectory for academic success. For others, a strategic plan of action will be necessary to address the academic skill deficiencies pre- and post-COVID-19. In order to meet the needs of every student, a solid plan of action is needed, and I am unclear. I am not confident that the District has developed that just yet.”
: “No, I do not agree with MPS’ decision to keep most students virtual until April because I believe April is too soon to return to in-person learning. Therefore, I would not decide to bring students back at all this school year. Yes, it has been challenging for all stakeholders, but our children and our community will be at risk with reopening MPS too soon and without an adequate public health and safety plan.
“Children are affected by COVID and carriers of COVID. They live with family members that are elderly and that have compromised immune systems. This poses a public health risk and will affect the community of color at a more disproportionate rate than any other community. I want to keep our children safe and our community safe.”
: “No, I do not agree with Milwaukee Public Schools’ decision to keep most students in all virtual instruction until April. As a parent, educator and administrator, I know how painful this pandemic has been for families. We are witnessing our most vulnerable students suffer from the current uncompromising remote learning regimen. Students with special needs, English language learners, and economically disadvantaged students are falling behind. Many students are dealing with pandemic induced trauma. For these reasons, we need a pragmatic, professional science-informed response to reopening.
“As we move through this era of COVID, we need to offer parents and families the option to send their children to school in-person. “
: “Yes, I agree.”


Places in Milwaukee where you can find help for domestic violence | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
May 16, 2023
Did we miss a program? Please let us know in comments or email<EMAIL_ADDRESS>Put “domestic violence resources” in the subject line.
As cases of domestic violence continue to torment our communities, we have compiled a list of places where you—or someone you love—can get help.
Name: Hmong American Women’s Association
Phone:<PHONE_NUMBER>
Address: 3030 W. Highland Ave.
What it does: The first and only Hmong women’s organization in the state, HAWA dedicates its resources to the advancement of Hmong women and girls. It offers culturally appropriate services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Name: HIR Wellness
Phone:<PHONE_NUMBER>
Address: 3136 W. Kilbourn Ave.
What it does: The organization is a survivor and women-led organization that provides care to victims of crime and violence through a Community Activated Medicine Framework and Intergenerational Healing Approach.
Name: Diverse & Resilient’s Room to Be Safe program
Phone or Text: 414-856-LGBT
What it does: The Room to Be Safe anti-violence program serves LGBTQ survivors of violence (e.g., intimate partner, sexual, hate violence, bullying, as well as religious, police, and state-sanctioned violence) throughout Wisconsin.
Name: UMOS Latina Resource Center
Phone:<PHONE_NUMBER>
Address: 2701 S. Chase Ave., Suite D
What it does: The UMOS Latina Resource Center provides comprehensive and holistic supportive services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking. The center serves all genders, races, ethnicities and age groups.
Name: Milwaukee Women’s Center
Phone:<PHONE_NUMBER>
What it does: The center provides services that deal with family violence, providing a 24-hour domestic violence crisis line, older abused women’s program, a family support center emergency shelter and a treatment program for batterers.
Name: Sojourner Family Peace Center
Phone:<PHONE_NUMBER>
Address: 619 W. Walnut St.
What it does: The center works to ensure the safety of victims of family violence and provides a pathway out of violence for victims and abusers through opportunities to make positive and lasting changes for themselves and their children.
Name: Milwaukee LGBT Community Center
Phone:<PHONE_NUMBER>
Address: 315 W. Court St.
What it does: The center provides assistance to members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community who have experienced or otherwise been impacted by intimate partner violence, sexual assault and abuse, stalking, physical assault, harassment, bullying, bias-related incidents, hate crimes and other forms of violence by advocating on their behalf, encouraging and assisting with crime reporting and accompanying crime victims to medical exams or court appearances if requested.
Name: Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers
Age:<PHONE_NUMBER>
Address: 1032 S. Cesar E. Chavez Drive.
What it does: The centers’ Social Services Department offers help and assistance for those experiencing domestic violence.
Name: Alma Center
Phone:<PHONE_NUMBER>
Address: 2821 N. Vel R. Phillips Ave., Third Floor
What it does: The Alma Center works locally and nationally to break the cycle of domestic violence in families by changing abusive men.
Name: The Asha Project
Phone:<PHONE_NUMBER>
Address: 3719 W. Center St.
What it does: The Asha Project is a domestic and sex trafficking prevention organization specializing in African American culturally specific services.
Name: The Women’s Center
Phone:<PHONE_NUMBER> (24 hour hotline)
What it does: Based in Waukesha, the center works with adult and child survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and trafficking. Programs include: emergency crisis shelter, transitional living apartments, free onsite child care. Programs are offered in Spanish, and translation in any language provided. All programs are offered at no cost and open to survivors from any community around the state and beyond.  All genders are welcome.
Name: Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center (GLIIHC)
Phone:<PHONE_NUMBER>
Address: 930 W. Historic Mitchell St.
What it does: The Behavioral Health Department’s Circle of Strength Program staff utilizes a culturally responsive, trauma-informed approach for the prevention and treatment of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse, or if you are unsure if you are experiencing any form of abuse or maltreatment, please do not hesitate to reach out to us for help. If you are in immediate danger, dial 911.
Name: Centro Legal
Phone:<PHONE_NUMBER>
Address: 611 W. National Ave.
What it does: The nonprofit legal service firm works with advocates to help connect survivors of intimate partner abuse access to services while it focuses on legal matters.
Name: Kids Matter Inc.
Phone:<PHONE_NUMBER>
Address: 1850 N. MLK Jr Drive #202
What it does: The organization helps abused and neglected children heal and thrive while also providing support to foster and kinship children to help prevent further child abuse.


Hong Kong: Who killed Dai Fei? · Global Voices
Luisetta Mudie

Glutter takes a deep breath and dives in to embrace a conspiracy theory surrounding the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in that fateful car chase in Paris. “You will never hear me talk about anything to do with aliens, crop circles, princess grace, how Courtney Love Hired a hit man to kill Kurt Cobain, fung shui, nor is Elvis or Jim Morrison Alive. I don't even think Bush won the election due to voters irregularities. But this one. I am really not sure,” she writes, following a personal visit to Kensington Palace.


Tanzania: Pedestrians’ tales · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Mara writes about pedestrians’ experiences in Tanzania: “Pedestrians have nothing close to the right of way around here. The bigger you are, the more authority you have. The faster you go, the more people are expected to dive out of the way when you approach. Motorcycles swerve to avoid 4×4s and trucks; bicycles swerve to avoid the motorcycles.”


Guinea: Is this what democracy looks like? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Is this what democracy looks like in Guinea?: “Reports from Pita, Mamou, Labe, etc. continue to come in regarding the brutality of state security forces against Guineans of the Peul ethnic group.  The forces are entering homes, beating up the occupants, ransacking and stealing personal property.”


Morocco: Popular Blog Turns 5 · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Bill Day of the a la menthe wishes popular English-language blog The View from Fez a happy fifth birthday.


Post from Community: Grassroots North Shore townhall talks gun safety solutions | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Grassroots North Shore
September 13, 2021
Add the destabilization of the pandemic and one of the worst recessions in years to gun laws that are almost restriction-free, it is no accident gun violence and suicides are spiking not just in big cities but all across the country.
On Sunday, September 19, Grassroots North Shore will be presenting experts, legislators,  activists to talk about this issue. From 3:00pm to 5:30pm the event will cover the scope of the problem of gun violence and explore possible solutions.
Following their presentations, the participants will take questions from the viewers.
To sign up for this event, go to www.grassrootsnorthshore.com/events.


Bolivia: Health Official Demonstrates Lack of Knowledge About HIV/AIDS · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The blogger at A Pesar de Ser Abogado [es] writes about the the fired public health official in Sucre, Bolivia, who demonstrated his lack of knowledge about HIV and AIDS during a media interview, including saying that one can contract the virus through the use of a public telephone.


Disabled Muslim man hounded for accidentally dropping currency, accused of spreading coronavirus - Alt News
Mohammed Zubair & Kinjal
27th April 2020 / 1:03 am
A CCTV footage showing a Muslim man in a petrol pump reaching for his pocket to make a payment and dropping something on the ground is massively viral on social media. Certain users have speculated that the man intentionally dropped currency notes to spread coronavirus infection. ABP News anchor Vikas Bhadauria tweeted the video saying, “Did he purposely drop the note or it fell by mistake? What could be his intentions?” As of this writing, his tweet drew close to 2.5 lakh views and 6,000 retweets.
[Translated from: नोट जानबूझ कर फेंका या गलती से गिर गया है ? इनका इरादा क्या हो सकता है ?#CoronaUpdate #CoronavirusOutbreak #lockdownindia]
नोट जानबूझ कर फेंका या गलती से गिर गया है ? इनका इरादा क्या हो सकता है ?#CoronaUpdate#CoronavirusOutbreak #lockdownindia pic.twitter.com/eAVlgQny6N
— Vikas Bhadauria (ABP News) (@vikasbhaABP) April 25, 2020
TV9 Gujarati aired the video claiming that a man in Gujarat’s Navsari threw a Rs 20 note creating a coronavirus scare.
BJYM Telangana spokesperson Roop Darak tagged Alt News asking if the man “willingly threw a note”.
Can you Plz fact check willingly currency on road .@AltNews @zoo_bear pic.twitter.com/dlb4Ch7TEo
— Roop Darak (@iRupND) April 25, 2020
Facebook page S24 News Channel uploaded the video with a caption in Gujarati – “Navsari: An incident where notes were thrown has come to light (નવસારી : ખડસુપા ગામે ચલણી નોટ ફેકવાનો કિસ્સો સામે આવ્યો.)”
Alt News contacted Navsari police and was informed by inspector P P Brahmabatt of the area’s rural police station: “After watching the CCTV footage, the owner of the petrol pump contacted the police. We brought in the man seen in the clip for questioning. His name is Mohammed Yusuf Ilyas Shaikh, a resident of Valsad. During the questioning, we found that his right hand is paralysed after he had met with an accident. His right hand does not function properly which is why the notes fell out of his hand. A complaint has been filed against him for travelling from Valsad to Navsari during the lockdown.”
Brahmabatt was further asked if Ilyas is coronavirus positive or has symptoms for the disease. “We took him for a medical examination and found that he does not have symptoms. He has been advised home-quarantine,” the inspector replied.
We also contacted Ilyas who described the events of April 22. “I had left in the morning to travel to Dabhel and stopped at a gas station en route to fill petrol. Since I was riding on the highway I was wearing spectacles and a mask. I met with an accident in 2009 and since then, I am unable to hold things in my right hand. There is movement in the hand but I cannot use it effectively. I didn’t even realise when the notes fell out of my hand.”
Ilyas further said, “If you notice the video carefully, I used my left hand to reach my pocket and make the payment. During this time, I didn’t realise that notes got stuck between my fingers in the right hand and fell on the ground.”
The CCTV footage shared by Vikas Bhadauria and TV9 Gujarati is merely 20 seconds long. However, the 46th second of the complete 2:13-minute video shows that Ilyas puts his left hand inside his pocket, takes out currency notes and holds them using both his hands. He then makes the payment using his left hand.
Upon being asked about the FIR filed against him, Ilyas informed that he was called to Valsad police station for questioning. “I informed the police that I hadn’t gone to Navsari but Dabhel which comes in the highway route. I have implants in my spine which sometimes pain. So I have to visit the hospital in Dabhel for a check-up every 2-3 months. A few people came from Navsari police station and took me to the rural police station. I was then taken to Navsari government hospital for a check-up. The doctors found that I was perfectly fine and had no symptoms for coronavirus. I didn’t even know what exactly was going on,” he said.
“When I told the police about the paralysis in my right hand, they accepted that I dropped the note unintentionally. The people from the petrol pump also came to the police station. When they saw my hand, they understood that it was a mistake. I was subsequently given bail and have been staying at home as advised by the doctor,” he continued.
Ilyas also gave a video statement to Alt News that can be watched below. The video shows severe injuries on his right hand.
Ilyas’s statement was corroborated by Sunilbhai Patel, the owner of Krishak petrol pump. “He has an injury on his hand due to an accident that he met years ago which is why notes fell from his hand,” he told Alt News.
Photographs of Ilyas’s X-ray report are attached below.
A conspiracy theory was manufactured around a benign incident caught on CCTV camera. One can only spread infection when they are infected in the first place. A person can find out if they are infected only after getting tested. In India, the COVID-19 tests are being carried out by both public and private laboratories. The labs are mandated to inform the respective governments about test results for further course of action or contact tracing. People are either quarantined or admitted to the hospital depending on their medical condition.
Only a test can determine if Shaikh is coronavirus positive. However, he denied ever having tested for the infection. Moreover, an infected person violating quarantine is a crime under the Epidemic Diseases Act but Shaikh hasn’t been booked under any of the relevant sections.
It is ridiculous to suggest that a coronavirus positive patient escaped a quarantine ward, took his scooter to a petrol pump and concocted a plan to quietly drop a currency note to spread the infection.
Several users on Twitter and Facebook have shared the video claiming, “पैसे लेने के बाद दूसरे हाथ से नोट फैक रहा है. (After taking money, he threw a note from his other hand.)”
Alt News has also received multiple fact-check requests on its official mobile application.
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Mexico: Smoking Ban in Effect · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Chilanga Banda [es] and DFinitivo [es] write about the prohibition of smoking in enclosed places in Mexico City, which took effect this past weekend.  The ban especially affects bars and restaurants.


Mexico: Online Library of Chinese Piracy · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Wave Making notes that the popular, controversial (and often offensive) blog, Pinches Chinos has celebrated its one year anniversary and takes the occasion to examine the complex feelings Mexicans have towards China. As always, the post is also available in Spanish.


Skills-Acquisition, Job-Creation Our Priority For Youth Empowerment - Adesola - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
Editor 4
August 1, 2019
TheFederal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has describedskills-acquisition as an integral aspect of its youth empowerment andjob-creation initiatives.
Theministry’s Permanent Secretary, Olusade Adesola, who made this known in Abuja,recommended an inter-agency collaboration for effective empowerment of Nigerianyouths.
Hesaid that the ministry had trained about fifteen-thousand youths in differentskills since 2015, and would continue to do more.
ThePermanent Secretary said that his ministry scaled-up skills acquisition in thearea of fashion designing in 2019, by training eighty-five youths to acquiremore expertise in the field.
Adesolacommended government’s National Social Investment Programme and the SkillsAcquisition programme of the National Youth Service Corps. He describedNigerian youths as intelligent and focused; only requiring support to excel.


Hungary: Royal castle in history · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

BudapestZIN posts historical video footage from the Buda Royal castle.