Stories about Digital Activism from April, 2006
Manal – The bold and the beautiful Moroccan blogger
Do you remember Jyllandsposten? The newspaper that published cartoons of the prophet (PBUH)? Representatives of the paper refused to meet with the BBC, CNN or the Danish TV, but agreed to meet Manal!! Yes, Manal is a student-doctor who blogs and wants to make a difference. Her blog Manal Carpe...
Belarus: Newspaper Faces Shutdown
Nasha Niva – “the last independent paper” – is about to be shut down, according to br23 blog and TOL's Belarus Blog. “Department of ideology wants to close it down because the editor-in-chief… was in jail for 10 days. That’s the reason they give for wanting to close their offices....
Iran's Nuclear Crisis, Persian Gulf Islands and Funds for Palestine
Permanent members of UN Security Council and Germany have come together to discuss their common action against Iran and the so-called “nuclear crisis” is a very hot issue in the Iranian media and blogs. Jadi (Persian) writes about nuclear energy and why he is against it: “I as a democrat,...
Trinidad & Tobago: Why isn't modern technology more prevalent?
Taran Rampersad tries to answer the question: “Why isn't modern technology more prevalent in Trinidad & Tobago.”
China: Imprisoned blogger
April 18 is illegally-detained documentarian and Beijing or Bust blogger Wu Hao's birthday and 56th day in prison. An English translation from the blog of Wu's sister Nina gives us an idea of how his disappearance is affecting the family: “Everyone believes he will be out soon, which is why...
Voices of African women – this week
Fleur writes about the harrowing case of 7 soldiers sentenced to life for rape and crime against humanity for the rape of 119 underage girls in Congo. The government of Congo has also admitted partial responsibility and financially compensated the family of the victims. Fleur says ….it sends an important...
China: Yahoo! and Google
Asiapundit‘s myrick gives us an update yesterday on detained Chinese blogger Wu Hao's situation: “With the initial burst of reporting and support having failed to secure his release, [Global Voices] has launched a petition to directly appeal to President Hu Jintao,” and today a clarification on any possible mischaracterization of...
Belarus: Last Week's Review
TOL's Belarus Blog writes about the release of opposition politician Mikhail Marynich. Andrei Khrapavitski reports on protesters in Minsk demanding the release of the former presidential candidate Aleksandr Kozulin. br23 blog links to pictures and posts a report from a flash mob that gathered in Prague to protest awarding “second-rate...
China: Blogger imprisoned illegally
“Documentary maker and journalist Hao Wu has been jailed in China without charge and is – according to Chinese law – held illegally in detention. A petition for his release has been set up here,” writes heavyweight China Herald blogger Fons Tuinstra.
China: Blogger still imprisoned
Beijing or Bust blogger Wu Hao has been imprisoned without charge for close to two months. With various efforts aiming to secure Wu's release already underway, Migratory Fool blogger suggests how to kick it up a notch in a comment on the latest post of Wu's sister Nina's blog: “I...
China: Presidential responsibility
Lisa at The Paper Tiger posts on the lack of progress in imprisoned blogger Hao Wu's case and shifts her gaze towards Chinese president Hu Jintao: “President Hu will be visiting the United States from April 18th through the 21st. Originally the hope was that he would consider releasing Wu...
DRC: Building the Demosphere
Blogger Tony Katombe from Le Blog du Congolais invites (FR) readers to sign up for the Demosphere, ” a network of sites, blogs and emails of activists and militants involved with the struggle for democracy in countries under dictatorship.” Last week, Katombe and the Demosphere were the subject of a...
Iran: World Have Your Say
A couple of Iranian bloggers participated in BBC's “World Have Your Say“” discussion about nuclear crisis. Several Iranian joined this discussion and shared their opinion by sending email or by giving phone calls.
Russia: Chechen Children's Mysterious Illness
Bob Granico of Publius Pundit is calling to international health organizations to examine the Chechen children affected by a mysterious illness and investigate its causes: “Given that the children are not recovering, and that there is so much distrust on both sides of the issue, outside medical help is drastically...
Taiwan: Blog conference
The Taiwan Blogger BoF conference opens this Friday in Taipei. Here's their blog [zh].
Slovenia: Adriatic Gas Terminal Construction
Michael of The Glory of Carniola writes that although Slovenia, Croatia and Italy have agreed to cooperate in making the Adriatic Sea cleaner, their efforts are unlikely to produce any results because of plans to build two gas terminals in the area of the Gulf of Trieste. Nearly 22,500 have...
The Moroccan blogosphere reacts to the threat of laying off one of its member and pays tribute to the late Fadi
This week, the Islamic world is celebrating the birthday of the prophet (PBUH). Merry Eid Al Mawlid to all Muslim bloggers. To fire or..not to fire! It's a “premiere” in Morocco. A blog about a misuse of the Moroccan money leads to the resignation of the misuser(French). But, the good...
Belarus: “Almost an Open Letter to Hollywood Producers”
Andrei Khrapavitski wonders why there hasn't appeared a single Hollywood movie about Belarus, “the baffling country between Russia and Poland.”
Ukraine: Promoting Books in Ukrainian
A group of Ukrainian LJ users concerned about the sorry state of Ukrainian-language book publishing had a lively discussion on how the situation could be improved. One blogger even drew a parallel with the Aymara language of faraway Bolivia. Below are just a few snippets of this conversation (UKR): swalllage-kits:...
China: Christianity vs. Communism
In China, the disappearance of blogs has become part of blogging life. Not an accepted part, however. More than just badges of blogger honor, the increasing number of Chinese blogs which have been blocked or deleted also serve as an indicator of just how many Chinese people find themselves at...
Podcast ban and regulation of blogs in Singapore
Back in August, 2005 when Dr. Chee Soon Juan, Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), first talked of his political platform in a podcast, the Atypical Singaporean commented in his blog: There is possibly zero chance for Opposition Parties to be heard on local radio and TV, and Podcasting...
