· January, 2008

Stories about Citizen Media from January, 2008

Barbados: Bring on the ferries

  31 January 2008

Barbadian Notes from the Margin argues for an inter-island Caribbean ferry service. “Moving people and goods from island to island is hugely difficult….”

Guyana: World ignores Lusignan?

  31 January 2008

Caribbean Lionesse asks: Why has the international media ignored the recent Lusignan massacre in Guyana? “Are 11 brown and black lives worth such scant attention?”

Blog for a Cause!: The Global Voices Guide of Blog Advocacy

  30 January 2008

Blog for a Cause!: The Global Voices Guide of Blog Advocacy explains how activists can use blogs as part of campaigns against injustice around the world. Blogging can help activists in several ways. It is a quick and inexpensive way to create a presence on the Internet, to disseminate information about a cause, and to organize actions to lobby decision-makers.

Brazil: Countdown to Carnival

  27 January 2008

There is a popular belief that in Brazil the year only starts after Carnival. Be this an exaggeration or not, there is not much else being talked about on the country's blogosphere: everyone is dusting off their costumes, getting into the mood and counting down the days for the biggest street party on Earth. Here's a round up of bloggers expectations in Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, Pernambuco, and the lesser known carnival in Minas Gerais.

Yemen blocks independent news websites

  25 January 2008

Numerous Yemeni websites have been blocked recently by government-controlled ISPs. Among them is the popular YemenPortal, Yemen’s first multi-source news crawler and search engine, which extracts headlines from news sites that are being blocked by the authorities. YemenPortal is inviting Yemeni internet users to access the website through a mirror they build at yemen.arabiaportal.net.

Armenia: Political Blogging Intensifies

  24 January 2008

The past week was eventful, and while the traditional media in Armenia were pondering their adequate response so as to avoid “unnecessary complications”, the Armenian Internet community were discussing the comings and goings of the current political scene at full speed. The start of the week was marked by yet...

Brazil: On community radios and mainstream media

  23 January 2008

“Do you think you know little about community radio stations or those that are called “pirates” on TV? Don't be surprised”. Luiz Carlos Azenha [pt] interviews Guilherme Canela about a research by him that shows that community run radios stations were subject matter for only 0.8% of the reports published...

Brazil: A half Portuguese, half African Brazilian street party

  18 January 2008

La Pasionaria Selénia posts her very nice pictures of yesterday's Feast of Bonfim, one of the most important annual popular celebrations in Salvador. The veneration of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim (Our Lord of the Good End) is an old Portuguese tradition that was imported to Brazil during colonial times, but...

Armenia: Politics — The Driving Force Behind Blogs?

  17 January 2008

Last week, the main topics discussed in the Armenian blogosphere were the election manifesto of former president Levon Ter-Petrossian and the presidential election in neighboring Georgia. It's no wonder that many are now wondering, including bloggers themselves, if politics isn't the driving force behind blogs in Armenia. “Before the last...

Armenia: Reparatations

  17 January 2008

The Armenian Observer posts a video of an Armenian official arguing that Turkey must return territory once inhabited Armenians before the 1915 Genocide in Ottoman Turkey. While the blogger says that territorial reparations are unlikely, he says that Armenians should demand maximum compensation from Turkey before gradually compromising from a...

Brazil: Indigenous people dying of white man diseases

  15 January 2008

Alda Inacio [pt] is revolted by a piece of news that shows how the the many indigenous peoples of Brazil are dying of hepatitis B and other diseases spread by the white man, and by the lack of resources to deal with it. “What happens in Brazil is pure negligence,...

Brazil: Should we fear Venezuela?

  14 January 2008

"Venezuela is due to become the biggest military force in South America. Should Brazilians be worried about it? Is there any need to fear Hugo Chavez?". These were lines on a recent satire TV show in Brazil, which presented the possibility of a Venezuelan invasion in the country. "Rumour Central" was accused by many bloggers of being misleading, manipulating and of inciting hatred against Venezuela among Brazilians. Find a link to see the 8 minute show with English subtitles in this piece.

Georgia: Presidential Election Update

  6 January 2008

Although the international media is now reporting a victory for the incumbent, Mikhail Saakashvili, in yesterday's presidential election in Georgia, there has so far been very little reaction to the news in the blogosphere. This contrasts strikingly with how bloggers worldwide reacted to the clashes between opposition supporters and riot...

Brazil: On the polemic campaign against AIDS

  2 January 2008

Alda Inacio [pt] on the withdrawal of an European campaign against AIDS showing two men having sex, on the grounds that the images were too explicit. “I believe that this disease does not belong to any class and this unfashionable mentality should have been abolished by those who made these...