· January, 2008

Stories about Digital Activism from January, 2008

Jamaica: Safe Sex?

  28 January 2008

Stunner's Afflictions blogs about the controversial issue of distributing condoms in Jamaican schools.

Trinidad & Tobago: “La Fantasie” & Reality

  28 January 2008

“For most Trinidadians, giving the name ‘La Fantasie’ to a house is a bitter joke, rousing memories of the hundreds of millions spent to construct the new prime ministerial palace…it also pokes sardonic fun at the fantasy of social and economic progress peddled by the current Trinidad and Tobago government”:...

Armenia: World Bank Corruption Fallout

  27 January 2008

Expat worker Bruce Tasker continues to update his readers on the latest developments on his blog, Blowing The World Bank Whistle. In particular, he details how coverage in the local media is finally beginning to pay dividends in his attempt to reveal alleged World Bank corruption in Armenia.

Blogger of the Week: Salam Adil

  27 January 2008

Global Voices Online kicks off a series of weekly interviews with the bloggers and cyberactivists who amplify the voices of citizen journalists in their countries on this site. Our first interview is with Iraqi Salam Adil, who brings us the heartbreaking stories, joys, observations, tribulations and hopes of Iraqi bloggers.

Armenia: Black Propaganda Blogs

  27 January 2008

The Armenian Observer says he is noticing a large number of blogs that have suddenly spring up ahead of next month's presidential election in Armenia. The blog laments the way in which supporters of former president Levon Ter-Petrossian and prime minister Serge Sargsyan are using the Internet to disseminate black...

Davos: peeking in and participating through videos

  26 January 2008

The World Economic Forum´s annual meeting of political and business leaders is taking place between January 23rd and January 27th in Davos, Switzerland. This year, common people can participate in this forum by giving their ideas to make the world a better place and posting it on the YouTube video sharing site.

Trinidad & Tobago: Fancy Sailors

  26 January 2008

“Every year it seems, the few individuals who have kept the traditions of Old Mas alive are becoming less visible”: Thebookmann features Trinidad and Tobago Carnival's Fancy Sailors.

Trinidad & Tobago: The Bottom Line

  26 January 2008

“Trinidad is no longer the Land of the Hummingbird but the Land of the Cash Cow…in the new Trinidad Carnival, the only thing that need be considered is not the bottom in the road but the bottom line in the road”: Nicholas Laughlin quotes Trinidad and Tobago journalist B.C. Pires.

Barbados: Impact of CSME

  26 January 2008

While Bajan Free Press believes “the future of Barbados is inextricably linked to the future of the Caribbean region of which we are a part”, Barbados Underground says: “We will probably import many of the social ills of T&T, Guyana and several of the other islands.”

Bahamas: Freedom of Information

  26 January 2008

As the Bahamian Prime Minister makes his report to the nation, Rick Lowe at WeblogBahamas.com admits to “feeling like someone was now in charge of The Bahamas”, but adds: “If there was one disappointment for me it is that Mr. Ingraham did not mention when a Freedom of Information Act...

Tunisia: An Introduction

  25 January 2008

The "Tunisphere" is a group a passionate Internet users and bloggers even if their number is not as high as in neighbouring countries like Morocco. Naruto introduces us to some of his country's leading bloggers in his first post for Global Voices Online.

Yemen blocks independent news websites

  25 January 2008

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.

Iran:Bloggers Solidarity Day with jailed students

  25 January 2008

Hundreds of bloggers support jailed students.According to Negha bi Hejab[Fa],on 31st January,the bloggers will change their blogs’ names in “January 31 (Bahman 10 in iranian agenda),Bloggers Solidarity Day with jailed students.” Many students are jailed for their ideas in Iran.Most of them were arrested 50 days ago.

Trinidad & Tobago: Stolen Generation?

  25 January 2008

A schoolyard incident in Trinidad and Tobago makes Jumbie's Watch wonder: “How and when did society ‘tief’ our children, and their innocence? And how did we let them get away with it, without even a murmur of protest?”

Bahamas: Prosperity Theology

  25 January 2008

Dan Schweissing blogs about prosperity theology in the Bahamas: “Telling someone that they are poor…because they don't have enough faith in God is the religious equivalent of telling a single mother with three kids and a full-time minimum wage job that she is poor because she's lazy and doesn't work...

China: A net campaign for the parents of slaves

  25 January 2008

A net campaign has been launched to aid the forgotten victims in the 2007 Chinese slave scandal--- the parents of the kiln workers. They share the pain of their children, the afflicting memory being a life-time scar. Some of their kids are yet lost, while the government is putting no more concern on the issue, leaving them wading alone. The internet is rallying a donation to comfort them with a warm Chinese New Year.