Stories about English from January, 2012
Cuba: Human Rights Double Standard
Lilianne Ruíz, blogging at Translating Cuba, compares a television spot “that shows a series of watercolors of butterflies from one of the five officials of the Interior Ministry imprisoned in...
Russia, Syria: Anti- and Pro-Assad Facebook Comment Attack
Facebook pages of some Russian media outlets (e.g., Afisha, Bolshoi Gorod, Esquire Russia, Channel 1, MTV Russia) were deluged with copy-pasted comments [ru, ar] from users who appeared to be...
Puerto Rico: Waste of Money
Dondequiera says of a US $20 million ad campaign to promote tourism: “If we could only use 1/4 of that money to police and clean our beaches, maintain the bathrooms…....
Cuba: Upwardly Mobile?
The latest Cuban media campaign “is directed against the [expensive] mobile vendors, those sellers of fruits and vegetables who transport their goods on a tricycle or other wheeled device” –...
Bermuda: “Constant Circus”
“The Premier is saying that she will pass more good governance laws. That’s positive,” says Vexed Bermoothes. But he still can't help but wonder: “You need laws to control the...
Jamaica: Bleached
Annie Paul posts an article she wrote about Vybz Kartel and the skin bleaching phenomenon.
Panama: President Receives Draft for New Constitution
“President Martinelli received [es] a draft of a new constitution from a special commission working on the subject,” reports Bloggings by boz. Boz looks at two of the biggest issues...
Mexico: Discussing Nonviolence with Javier Sicilia
Fred Rosen interviewed Javier Sicilia, founder of the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity. Rosen will report on the conversation in upcoming posts in his blog at the NACLA...
Azerbaijan: #LightYourFire Eurovision Meme
Ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Baku in May, a new Internet Meme has appeared on Twitter. With Azerbaijan known as the Land of Fire, the...
China: A review of the new high-speed rail between Shenzhen and Guangzhou
Cam from Nanfang writes a review on the newly built high-speed rail service between Shenzhen and Guangzhou. The two train stations locate at the out skirt of the cities but...
China: The legacy of Wukan
David Bandurski from China Media Project blogs about the discussion among Chinese public intellectuals on the political implications of Wukan struggle against land acquisition in Guangdong.
Philippines: Protest Against Removal of Trees by Shopping Mall
The plan of SM City Baguio shopping mall in north Philippines to remove more than 100 trees to make way for a new parking lot and entertainment site has been greeted by massive protests from concerned citizens and various cause-oriented groups.
India: A Disastrous Tour Of Australia
In the context of the Indian cricket team's recent bad performance Amreekandeshi has some suggestions how to improve India's fortunes in Australia.
Macedonia: “Conformism, Hypocrisy and Opportunism”
Human rights activist, journalist and artist Xhabir M. Deralla candidly expressed his view on the role of the civic sector in contemporary Macedonia: “The choir of indolent subjects stands mute....
India: Child Abuse In Mumbai
Debolina Raja Gupta blames Mumbai police for not being able to solve the recent child abuse cases and the trend is on the rise as a consequence.
Bangladesh: Protest Against Criminalization For Archiving A Banned Book
Hana at Unheard Voice highlights a petition by twenty human rights activists, academics and members of the Bangladeshi civil society in which they protest the arrest of a Head Teacher...
Pakistan: Moral Policing of Dating Couples Gets TV Show Axed
In a recent live Pakistani television show, a group of middle aged women were seen scouring the parks of Karachi to hold accountable the couples dating without their guardians' knowledge. Protests mounted on social media which led to the firing of the anchor and removal of the show from the network.
Chile: Mapping Chile with OpenStreetMap
In El Quinto Poder [es], Marcelo Aliaga writes about OpenStreetMap (OSM), “a free editable map of the whole world,” and the OSM community in Chile. He invites Chileans to participate...
Cuba: Pope's Visit & Human Rights
In the wake of more repression against Las Damas de Blanco, Uncommon Sense thinks “that the pope should postpone his visit until human rights conditions improve in Cuba.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Abuse of Trust
The TnT River says of an incident in which a teacher allegedly stuck a student's head in a toilet bowl: “This is another case of child abuse which comes in...
South Africa: Student Anti-Racism Poster Causes a Stir
South Africa's Democratic Alliance Students Organisation recently released a controversial poster as part of their anti-racism campaign, which shows a naked mixed-race couple embracing. The poster has caused a huge stir on Facebook, Twitter and blogs and even generated viral spoof posters.
