Stories about English from July, 2012
Costa Rica: Video Love Note Gets Vice-Minister Dismissed
The Costa Rican Vice-Minister of Youth Karina Bolaños was removed from her post by the Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla after a video showing an underwear clad vice minister sending a love note to a lover was made public and spread through the web. Reactions to this news are quite varied: from censure to the Vice-Minister for making a video and not taking care to erase it, to rejection of all those who continued to spread the video and finally, repudiation to the President for removing the vice-minister from her post as if she were not the victim of this whole affair.
Russia: Anti-Church Activist Flees Under Psychiatric Incarceration Threat
A blogger and leader of the Youth Human Rights Group in Karelia, has fled Russia to Poland after months of interrogations by prosecutors that included threats of detention in a psychiatric clinic in retaliation for statements made online against the Russian Orthodox Church.
Trinidad & Tobago: Hoping for Medals
The MEP Blog takes a look at the country's past Olympic greats and 2012 medal hopefuls.
Guyana: Olympic Dreams
Guyana-Gyal explains how the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in London “remind[ed] [her] to stay true to [her] dreams, no matter how mad they might sound to them people...
Guyana: Linden Protests
Imran Khan explores the roots of the Linden Protests and concludes that the recent electricity rate hike is merely the latest in a long series of “economic and social hardships”...
St. Lucia: The Power of Words
David Cave writes a tribute to his mentor, the Saint Lucia poet Kendel Hippolyte: “Indeed, Kendel showed me first hand that there is real power in words. Words evoke emotions,...
China: Bizarre Power Triangle – Sina, the Government and Netizens
Ever since the advent of Internet in China, the Chinese government has either tried to embrace it or control it. The upsurge of social media in the country has introduced two other characters into the story-Chinese netizens and leading Internet company Sina. Find out more about this often bizarre power triangle.
Tanzania: ‘Don't Drown’ SMS-Based Maritime Early Warning System
"Tanzania has few if any rivals for numbers of boat deaths over the last couple of decades," says the founder of Usizame, Rachel Hamada. Usizame is a free SMS-based ferry check-in and alert system designed to help prevent marine accidents in Tanzania.
Latin America: Is 2012 the ‘Year of the Woman” at the Olympics?
The Americas Quarterly blog points out that although there is still a lot to do to end gender discrimination at the Olympics, “for the first time in history, every country...
Tanzania: Newspaper Shut Down by Government
On 30 July, the government of Tanzania banned indefinitely a popular weekly investigative newspaper called Mwanahalisi. Tanzanians received the news with great astonishment, although the same newspaper was previously banned for three months in 2008.
Lebanon: ‘AlloFail’ Campaign Lobbies for Better Mobile Services
AlloFail is an initiative to improve the quality of mobile products and services in Lebanon which according to many, leaves much to be desired. See how a group of netizens are using social media to create awareness about the problems and usher change in this sector.
Guatemala: Mining Community Organizes Peoples’ Health Tribunal
For years, the community of San Miguel Ixtahuacán in Guatemala has been denouncing the negative consequences of Goldcorp's Marlin gold mine. On July 14 and 15, members of the community joined other international organizations to form a 'Peoples' International Health Tribunal.' In the first post in this two-part series, we introduce the Health Tribunal and also highlight the local efforts of the San Miguel Ixtahuacán community .
Wales: Imagining the Welsh Language Web
For the 600,000 speakers of Welsh the Internet represents a galaxy of new opportunities to use and see their language. But what exactly is 'y we Gymraeg' - the 'Welsh language web' - and how can it benefit the language's speakers?
South Africa: Celebrating First Gold Medal in 8 Years
Congratulations have been pouring in for South African swimmer Cameron van der Burgh who picked up South Africa's first gold medal after the country's dismal failures at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He is also South Africa's first male swimming Olympic gold medalist.
Philippines: New Mining Policy Stirs Debate
Philippine President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino's new Executive Order 79 on mining has drawn criticism from environmentalists, church people, peasant groups, and various other sectors. The Philippines has one of the largest mineral deposits in the world
Russia: The ‘Mating Rituals’ of Bloggers and Governors
"We're not going to go to any more of these meetings, we've decided. From now on, let the suck-ups get together - the Nashists and the 'Stal'evtsy - but we won't be there" - A blogger reacts to a meeting with Penza's Governor.
Ethiopia: Messages of Solidarity from Christians for Muslims
Messages of unity from Ethiopian Christians have gone viral in the Ethiopian digital public as Ethiopian Muslims persistently kept their peaceful protest in a bid to end government’s meddling in their religious affairs. A multitude of Christians have changed their Facebook status by announcing their allegiance with Ethiopian Muslims.
Ukraine, Russia: Olympic Athletes’ Birthplace Controversy
The official website of the London 2012 Olympics turned out to be not the most reliable source of info on a number of foreign-born members of the Russian team. Demanding corrections, Ukrainian netizens launched a protest letter-writing campaign, and even the Foreign Minister got involved via Twitter.
Pakistan: The business Of Ramadan
Samra Muslim at Pak Tea House writes that the month of Ramadan is not important for religious reasons but it is the month of business all around creating a lot...
Caucasus: Olympic Women
Ianyan introduces its readers to the female athletes representing the three countries of the South Caucasus in the Olympic games in London.
Russia: Nepofigism, Free Crowdsourced Legal Consultation
The Russian online group "Nepofigism" offers a free legal consulting service. The project's creators designate no particular direction for the consulting. Their aim is to offer real help to people with any type of problem. The site is a space for professionals and ordinary Internet users with various legal and everyday problems.
