· March, 2007

Stories about Digital Activism from March, 2007

Palestine: US Spying on Arab Blogs

Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah believes that the US is spying on Arab blogs. “We are now officially tracked, monitored and harassed by a special team from the U.S. State Department calling themselves the ‘Digital Outreach Team’,” he writes.

China: Nation's first citizen reporter?

  30 March 2007

Meet Zola Zhou, independent citizen reporter, blogging live from the nailhouse. But is Zola really China's first citizen reporter? Big-name bloggers like Herock, Doubleleaf and Zhan Bin say he is. Out of what Zola says is a ‘sensitivity to news’ and desire for fame, on Monday afternoon he hopped on...

China: blogger's report on nail house

  29 March 2007

A young blogger Zola travelled to Chongqing to report on the “Nail House” issue (zh) and came up with a series of report (already 4 posts). His trip was sponsored by other bloggers.

Global Voices in Moscow

  28 March 2007

On March 21, Moscow hosted its First International Conference on Blogs, Media and Citizen Journalism. I was happy to represent both Global Voices and neweurasia at the meeting. The conference was organized by the Centre for Internet Policy of Moscow State University for International Relations (MGIMO), Realno.info, a web site...

Egypt: Blogger Assaulted

Egyptian blogger Hossam El Hamalawy reports a bizarre incident during the hearing of a case lodged by a judge to block 21 blogs and websites that “harm Egypt’s national interests and defame Hosni Mubarak.” “The court session ended in a circus, with judge Abdel Fattah Mourad who filed the lawsuit...

Egypt: Citizen Journalism Talk

Egyptian blogger Hossam Al Hamalawy will give two talks – one on citizen journalism – at the 5th Cairo Anti War Conference and 3rd Cairo Social Forum being held later this month. “The conference should be a golden opportunity for us to exchange experiences with international and local activists. I...

The Israeli Blogs-Looking for an Advocate

Hello Everyone! Today I am guest authoring for the Israeli blogs…a section of the Middle East that doesn't get covered very much here at Global Voices. It isn't because we aren't interested…we are, and it isn't because the Israeli blogs aren't fun and fascinating…because they are (and I will show...

Egypt: Arrested Activists and Bloggers Released in the Desert

Bloggers Roam the Desert Egypt today released bloggers and other activists arrested in an anti-Mubarak rally in Cairo held the previous day in the desert, according to bloggers. Blogger and journalist Hossam El Hamalawy, who has been closely following the developments, writes: Police released the remaining Kefaya activists in custody...

Egypt: Free Kareem Rallies and What Kareem Wrote

A call has gone out for a second round of worldwide rallies to pressure the Egyptian government to free detained blogger Abdulkareem Nabeel Sulaiman, a 22-year-old former Al Azhar University student, who has been sentenced to four years in prison for articles he wrote on the Internet. On February 22,...

Egypt: Bloggers Among Egyptian Demo Detainees

It is happening all over again..and may recur in a bigger way tomorrow (Monday March 26) as more Egyptians are threatening to take to the streets in protest against proposed amendments to the Constitution. Incidentally, a referendum on the amendments which are to be implemented tomorrow, which aim to –...

Kuwait: Are Bloggers Such a Threat?

This was the question posed by a Kuwaiti blogger following the sudden axing of a popular television programme The Diwaniya, which was aired on government-run Kuwait Television Channel One (Arabic). The Diwaniya literally translates to a room common in Kuwaiti homes, in which people gather to discuss their everyday lives,...

Egypt: Pressure on to Release Sulaiman

Pressure is mounting on Egypt to release jailed blogger Abdulkareem Nabeel Sulaiman. The latest pressure tactics are an op-ed article in the New York Post and a call to US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice to raise Kareem's issue in her meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, according to Free...

Nepal: Roar against Internet Shutdown

  23 March 2007

The decision of the Internet Service Providers Association of Nepal (ISPAN) to shut down internet services for two hours – one each in morning and evening – didn’t have good effect on bloggers. The shutdown was a part of the protest program announced by the Nepal’s industrialists against the Maoists’...