Stories about Citizen Media from December, 2012
Egypt: The People Demand Free and Open Source Software
A lot has been said about the liberating role technology has played in the Middle East uprising, yet there is more to be said about the mutual role the uprising is yet to play in liberating the technology in the region. Angered by an announcement that the Egyptian government agreed to spending $43.8 million to acquire licenses and software products from Microsoft, members of the Open Source community in Egypt are planning a silent protest outside the Cabinet on December 30.
Looking Back at 2012 in South Asia – Part I
Armed with more smartphones than ever before, we see an increasing number of South Asians stepping across borders through social media. This year we saw the first India - Pakistan social media summit in Karachi. We also saw Indian and Bangladeshi hackers caught up in cyber wars. Here we look back at the rise of social media in 2012.
Online Petition for Oscar López
The online petition asking for the pardon of Puerto Rican political prisoner Oscar López Rivera is rapidly getting close to its objective of 3,000 signatures. López was arrested in 1981 and sentenced to 70 years in jail for “seditious conspiracy” for participating in acts in favor of the independence of...
Russian Politicians Doom Orphans as Orthodox Christmas Approaches
On December 26th, 2012 the Federation Council, Russia's upper house of Parliament, upheld a controversial new law banning adoptions of Russian children by Americans. The unanimous vote throws into stark contrast the failure of the prolific online campaign against the law.
Tocqueville French Revolution Classic on China's Bestsellers List
Thanks to China's top officials, French historian Alexis de Tocqueville’s "The Old Regime and the Revolution”, a 19th-century classic about the French revolution, has become a best seller in China.
Slovak Blogger Promotes Fairness in State Support for Businesses
Blogger Robert Huran reports [sk] on the initial success of his online form [sk] for entrepreneurs, which was created two months ago in response to the news [sk] of the €200 million governmental support for ten selected companies. The reasons these companies were chosen included promises of investment and creation...
Macedonia: Beer Belly Blog Anniversary
The “Beer Belly” blog celebrated [mk, mk] its first anniversary. Its author @Twibi thanked members of the Macedonian Twitter community who have been bringing him beer samples from their trips all over the world to review. So far, he has made 198 posts about beers from 20 countries, including Kenya...
A Comic Book Superhero With a Kyrgyz Flavour
Kyrgyz superhero fans will soon have comic books and cartoon films featuring a 'national' fictional character, Barsbek. But some netizens argue that the Central Asian superhero looks too much like Spider-Man.
Africa's Tainted Global Media Coverage
The #Kony2012 campaign contained quite a few over-simplifications about Africa. African media itself is not immune from this sort of criticism either. Here is a summary of the gems, errors and other inaccuracies in media coverage of Africa.
Iran's Most Memorable Internet Moments in 2012
Here are some of the most memorable moments from the Iranian cyber world in 2012. The regime continued its repressive and merciless tactics against bloggers and netizens all year, culminating in the death by torture of Iranian blogger
Brazilian Memes and Internet Culture in 2012
What was the best of the crazy world of Brazilian memes and Internet culture in 2012? One thing is for sure “Brazil can do virals”, says Anna Heim from The Next Web, in an post she wrote in collaboration with Bia Granja, from youPIX.
Mexico: Federal Court Halts Controversial Wind Park
The largely indigenous opposition to wind farms in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec of Oaxaca, Mexico won a tremendous victory when a District Seven Federal Court judge granted an injunction temporarily halting the construction of a controversial wind park in San Dioniosio del Mar in the southern state of Oaxaca. While the indigenous Ikojts (Huave) peoples of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec celebrated and called for government and industry to comply with the decision, their grassroots struggle continues.
WCIT and Its Relationship to the Internet
The World Conference on International Telecommunications was held in Dubai from December 3 to 14, 2012. The Vía Libre Foundation discusses the issues of this momentous conference.
Balochistan Gets a Military Operation On Christmas Eve
The Pakistan army has launched a military operation in the Awaran district of Balochistan on Christmas Eve which resulted in many casualties. Apparently the operation was targeting the Tehsil Mashkai of separatist leader Dr. Allah Nazar’s home in Mahi village.
India Debates Capital Punishment for Rape
Shocked at the brutality of the recent gang-rape of a 23 year old woman in a Delhi bus, Indians are asking for stricter laws and harsher punishments for violence against women. There has been vigorous debates going on about capital punishment for rapists, started out by a member of Parliament, Sushma Swaraj.
From Gangnam Style to Jailed Tweeter: Korea in 2012
Starting from North Korean leadership change, to Gangnam Style spreading over the world and finally the presidential election in December, 2012 has been a dramatic year in South Korea. Here are the top seven Korean stories of the year, which created major social media buzz.
Rebel Attacks on Ndélé and Bria, Central African Republic
These last few weeks, with attacks on the the cities of Ndélé and Bria, rebels have been threatening the regime of Central African Republic President François Bozizé. This fresh wave of attacks, which caused significant civilian displacement, has rendered the peace agreements signed in 2007 definitively obsolete.
Bangladesh: Mobile Health Service For Expecting and New Mothers
Both the Maternal and child mortality rates are high in Bangladesh. On the other hand the mobile penetration rate is close to 65% and many of the subscribers are female. Aponjon, a maternal health care service using mobile phone was launched recently targeting expecting and new mothers in Bangladesh to reduce maternal and newborn illnesses and deaths.
Syria: Negotiating Defection on Twitter
Following reports that former Syrian spokesman Jihad Makdissi had fled to the US, on 25 December activist Rami Jarrah, also known as Alexander Page, released private Twitter messages that show Makdissi had been in contact with him for months. This could be, as Twitter users have named it, “the first defection negotiation in history.”
China Considers Real Name Registration for All Internet Users
Following the call for more internet supervision by state-run People’s Daily newspaper last week, Xinhua news reported on December 24, 2012 that the Chinese government is considering a new law requiring real-name registration for its 500 million internet users.
Bahrain Police “Slap” Video Goes Viral
Two years ago what has become known as “The Arab Spring” was sparked when a member of the Tunisian police forces slapped a young man in Sidi Bouzid. People thought that the days of police suppression will be over soon, but in Bahrain yet another video has gone viral to remind us that police states are alive and well.
