Stories about Citizen Media from December, 2010
Russia: Internet 2010 Overview
2010 highlighted several important trends of Russian Internet. Online audience grows very fast with people getting more news online and actively using social networks. In a lot of ways, 2010 brought a recognition of the power of the Internet into Russian society.
North Korea's State-run TV Broadcasted its First Western-made Film
North Korea's state-run television broadcasted its first Western-made film, a heavily edited “Bend It Like Beckham”. The British soccer film contains North Korea's taboo topics, like interracial relationships, homosexuality and religion. British Embassy in Seoul tweeted it is ‘the first western live-action film ever aired in North Korea, arranged by...
Latin America: 2010 in Review
An 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile, a police strike in Ecuador and the Nobel Prize in Literature for Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa were some of the news bloggers and citizen media users reported and analyzed this year. Let's take a look at these and other stories the Latin American team covered in 2010.
Nigeria: Controversy Over the Sale of Stolen Benin Mask
Online activists have been protesting against the proposed auction of six pieces of stolen artworks including the mask of Queen Idia – the first Queen Mother of Benin, Nigeria.
Zambia: Tina Banda, The Facebook Agony Aunt
To many people Facebook is a tool to announce what they are doing or what they have done, yet to some Zambians, it is being used as ‘Agony Aunt’ from which they are seeking advice on many social problems affecting them.
Bolivia: Government Ends Fuel Subsidies, Protests Expected
On December 26th, the Bolivian government announced that it would be ending fuel subsidies and that the price of gasoline and diesel would increase by 73% and 83%, respectively. The measure has concerned Bolivian citizens because the price for many goods and services have already increased.
USA: Indigenous Youth Media Project Recovers History
For a Navajo community, video has become a way to connect youth with their ancestors and the history of their people through the story of the Yellow Woman.
Mexico: Indigenous People Denounce Mining Project on Sacred Site
The Indigenous Huichol People of Mexico are denouncing a Canadian mining project that is threatening one of their sacred sites and that, if completed, would endanger their health and water supply.
India: Doctor Gets Life Sentence On Sedition Charges
On 24th December, 2010, a Sessions Court in Raipur, Chattisgarh, convicted civil rights activist Dr. Binayak Sen on charges of sedition and conspiracy. The court found Dr. Sen guilty of aiding Maoist rebels in the State and have sentenced him to life imprisonment. Netizens reacted to the verdict.
South Africa: Corrective rape is a hate crime
Corrective rape is a criminal practice, whereby men rape lesbian women, purportedly as a means of “curing” the woman of her sexual orientation. Despite South Africa being the first nation on earth to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation, the first African country to legalize same-sex marriage and the world’s first republic to guarantee LGBT citizens equal rights in all realms of life (including adoption and military service), cases of corrective rape have been on the rise.
South Korea:Cows Culled As Mouth and Foot Disease Spread
As the mouth and foot disease spread around South Korea, the government ordered farms to slaughter their cattle, including yet healthy cows and pigs to slowdown the wide spread the disease. @Biguse tweeed a photo of healty cows having their last supper just before being culled.
Caucasus: The Year in Review
With 2011 nearly upon us, the year in new and social media in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia during 2010 was surprisingly positive. So, what did the past year hold in store for the South Caucasus? Read on.
Zambia: 1964 Independence Agreement Threatens to Split Nation
Zambia has in recent weeks been faced with clamours of secession by one of its regions with which it merged at independence from Britain in October 1964 to form a unitary state. The region now known as Western Province (formerly Barotseland) was an autonomous region before independence headed by the Litunga, king of the Lozi people.
Venezuela: Hugo Chavez Granted Special Powers for 18 Months
On December 17, Caracas Gringo wrote that President Hugo Chavez “was granted special powers to rule by presidential decree until June 2012.” An Enabling Law that Venezuelan Analysis reports was passed “in order to bring rapid relief to 130,000 flood victims and to further engrain 21st Century Socialism in the...
Malawi: Citizens’ take on vice-president's dismissal
In early 2009 Malawi’s President Bingu wa Mutharika was fighting for his political life with an opposition that frustrated his every move in parliament and looked strong enough to unseat him. The majority of Malawians were very impressed with the president’s economic and infrastructural development, and were very sympathetic to...
Bangladesh:Discussing the Controversy Surrounding Dr.Yunus
Badrud Doza, on his blog An Ordinary Citizen, discusses the recent controversy surrounding Dr. Yunus – Nobel laureate and founder of Grameen Bank.
South/North Korea: Tensions Escalate in Midst of Live-Fire Drills
South Korean military exercises were underway today near the disputed waters with North Korea, who threatened Seoul to strike back, raising more tensions in the Korean peninsula. The Korean people, who have had one of the toughest days in recent weeks after the Yeonpyeong incident that killed four South Koreans, sighed with relief as the day came to a close without any conflict breaking out.
Chile: Prison Fire Sparks Debate on Social Networking Sites
A fire in a prison in San Miguel in Santiago, Chile, which killed more than 80 prisoners after one of its towers caught fire, caused mixed reactions on social networks. The fire has opened the debate on human rights of prisoners and the media coverage of events like these.
Côte d'Ivoire: Lessons for Africa
Africans can learn from the political crisis in Cote d'Ivoire, says Salisu Suleiman:"The most important message must be that there are no perfect democracies anywhere in the world. Even Western democracy, particularly the American presidential model, which is very often our reference point, has significant drawbacks..."
Brazil: Indigenous communities reflect on using the internet
For the first time ever, delegates of 16 indigenous communities from all over the country gathered together to discuss a subject of utmost importance: the Internet, and how to use it in favor of indigenous people. This is the first post authored by Chicoepab Surui, from the Paiter Surui people of the Amazon.
Kenya: ICC Prosecutor Names 2008 Post Election Violence Suspects
The International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Louis Moreno Ocampo on Wednesday 15 December, 2010 named 6 top Kenyan personalities believed to bear the most responsibility for the post election violence in 2008. Discussion about Ocampo's list of six dominated both Twitter and the Kenyan blogosphere for the better part of the day with sharp reactions being witnessed.
