Stories about Citizen Media from January, 2008
Barbados: Bring on the ferries
Barbadian Notes from the Margin argues for an inter-island Caribbean ferry service. “Moving people and goods from island to island is hugely difficult….”
Jamaica: “Heartbreaking” deterioration
Montego Bay Day By Day posts “heartbreaking” photos of a deteriorating historic building in Falmouth, Jamaica.
Anguilla, China: Illegal foreign labour?
Are Anguillan building contractors using cheap and illegal Chinese labour? Corruption-Free Anguilla is concerned.
Trinidad and Tobago: “Not playing mas”
Trinidad's Coffeewallah explains why she will not be participating in this year's Carnival masquerade.
Trinidad and Tobago: Water woes
If Trinidad and Tobago is so good at pumping oil out of the ground, OpenDepth asks, why are water mains so often dry?
Guyana: World ignores Lusignan?
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?”
Azerbaijan: Something Fishy
After posting about fish swimming up water pipes and clogging up faucets, Carolyn & Jesse's Azerbaijan Peace Corps Blog now posts a photograph of the culprits.
Blog for a Cause!: The Global Voices Guide of Blog Advocacy
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
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
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.
Brazilian Football Star Remembered on 25th Death Anniversary
It is through video online that many Brazilians and football fans from around the world have found a way to pay homage to one of the best dribblers in football history, Manuel Francisco dos Santos, best known as Garrincha.
Armenia: Political Blogging Intensifies
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...
Brazil: On community radios and mainstream media
“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...
Brazil: A half Portuguese, half African Brazilian street party
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...
Armenia: Politics — The Driving Force Behind Blogs?
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...
Armenia: Reparatations
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...
Brazil: Indigenous people dying of white man diseases
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...
Brazil: Should we fear Venezuela?
"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
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...
Brazil: On the polemic campaign against AIDS
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...
