· October, 2009

Stories about Digital Activism from October, 2009

Cuba: Feeling the Disconnect

  26 October 2009

Cuba's Generation Y feels like a nomad in cyberspace, but is confident that “one day my blog will be found on a server on this Island and, believe me, it will not be because it has performed an ideological pirouette.”

Bermuda: PATI Problems

  26 October 2009

Vexed Bermoothes says that Bermuda's draft freedom of information law “is a rather opaque transparency law. It also misses a singular opportunity to protect whistleblowers…”

St. Lucia: Death of the Artiste?

  26 October 2009

“In the Caribbean you’re more likely to wake up one day in summer and find it snowing than find a writer or poet who believes that the way to get ahead in the book trade and the literary field is to look to the governments for support”: St. Lucia-based Caribbean...

Philippines: Relief Goods Rotting in Government Warehouses

  25 October 2009

Ella's Blog from the Philippines posts photos of donated goods intended for typhoon victims rotting in government warehouses. The expose has sparked fears that the goods might be misused to support administration candidates in next year's elections. The original site shows a “404 Not Found error” when it is accessed...

Trinidad & Tobago: Trini To The Bone?

  23 October 2009

“Every day that I go through the news I become more convinced that I want to quit the ‘I am a Trini’ club and head off to somewhere else”: Coffeewallah has had it with everything from crime to taxes.

Trinidad & Tobago: 350 Action

  23 October 2009

“Trinidad and Tobago is a wealthy small island developing nation rich in oil and natural gas. But we are also seeing the damaging effects of aggressive industrialisation on our islands. This is an opportunity for women’s voices to be heard”: Attillah Springer is getting involved in 350's climate action tomorrow.

Russia: Soviet Legacy and Street Names

  23 October 2009

A few weeks ago, it seemed as if every single Russian blogger took the time to write something about the re-naming of Anti-Soviet Shish Kebab Restaurant in Moscow, a dissident journalist's protest article and a pro-Kremlin youth movement's counter-protest activities. One blogger alluded to the scandal in a post about street names that kept on preserving the questionable Soviet legacy.

Trinidad & Tobago: No Hope?

  22 October 2009

As a legendary Trinidadian artist's sculpture is given a coat of paint to “spruce it up”, Nicholas Laughlin says: “This…is a telling symptom. It tells me how unaware we are, as citizens, of the civic spaces we live and work in, and how irresponsibly we behave towards them. It tells...

Western Sahara: Hunger Strike in Support for Separatists

  21 October 2009

Solidarité Maroc [Fr], an online forum regrouping some Moroccan human rights activist, publishes an appeal (video) by French national Jean François Debargue who's on hunger strike in solidarity with Sahrawis whom he says are living in “dire conditions” in Western Sahara – a territory administered by Morocco and contested by...

Trinidad & Tobago: Truth or Dare

  21 October 2009

“We are a society that publicly cries corruption but privately upload mega-project photos on Flickr with misguided pride”: This Beach Called Life uncovers “the hidden truth” about Trinidad and Tobago.

Cuba: Press Freedom Ranking

  20 October 2009

“Press conditions were considered worse only in Burma, Iran, Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea”: Uncommon Sense refers to the latest Reporters Without Borders index of press freedom around the world, noting that once again, Cuba is low on the list.

Cuba: Internet & Freedom

  20 October 2009

Generation Y makes a call for “freedom for Cuba” and thinks that the Internet is the way: “It occurs to me to use kilobytes, to take advantage of the cutting edge of a word that is also sharp and makes precepts grow more durable than the machete.”