Stories about Digital Activism from June, 2011
Spain: Manuel Castells at #AcampadaBCN
Ivan Chaar-López posts the videos of sociologist and communications scholar Manuel Castells [es] speech on “Communications, Power and Democracy” which he offered during his visit to activists in Barcelona, Spain.
Russia: Deciphering Covert “Bath Salt” Drug Advertisements
LJ-user re3 writes [ru] about covert drug graffiti (e.g. “Aromatic salt – call center 24 hours”). Graffiti look like regular guerrilla ads air sprayed on the building walls. They, however, advertise fast delivery of the so called “Bath Salt” drug. The blogger claims whole Urals region is filled with such ads, some of which, might be...
South Korea: Labor Workers Fight Against Police and Corporation
Hanjin Heavy Industries have violently clamped down its union protest. Twitterer @pmtsjc posted photos of how company-hired gang cut rope to drag down workers protesting on crane top. The clash, which ignited over unfair mass lay-offs, has continued for over a month now.
Syria: Black Comedy of the Revolution
Black comedy is one of the ways one deals with traumatic events. The recent events in Syria, while bloody and depressing to many people, have also brought about an explosion of blogs, Facebook pages and articles that try to satirize the events, and point out the absurdities in the official narrative - sometimes in very unorthodox ways.
Africa: 11 Ways For African Revolutionaries to Get Around Internet Blockades
Willemien Groot's Guide for African Revolutionaries: 11 Ways to get around internet blockades: “Internet blockades are more the rule than the exception in non-democratic countries. But there are ways to get round them, even though no censorship circumvention tool is 100 percent safe. Rule number 1: you’re clever, but the...
Kuwait: Flip Your Avatar, Show Support to the Bidun!
Kuwait has around 100,000 stateless people or Bidun - meaning without nationality. They have no papers, ID cards, access to government education and health care, birth or death certificates. With Arabs rising this year, the Bidun of Kuwait are making their voices heard, both on the ground and via social media, asking people to "flip their avatars" in support.
Cuba: Old & Black
“Being old in Cuba is a problem”: But, explains Iván García, “it becomes harder if you are black.”
Syria: Blogging Day for Syria
Today marks the 100th day since the protest movement found its foothold in Syria. A 100 days later, more than 1,400 deaths, and three presidential speeches, the protest movement is still in full force. This Friday is being billed "friday of delegitimization".
Macedonia: .mk Twitter Republic
Protests continue in Macedonia, as the authorities keep silent about the people's demands of accountability, political responsibility and an end to police brutality. On Sunday, a new symbol was displayed by some protesters: the Macedonian flag with a Twitter logo on it, homage to the role of the Twitter community.
A Syrian Solution for North Korea
Libyan and Syrian cases are significant to North Korea's possible change by exhibiting how quickly ruthless totalitarian regimes can become unstable in the face of resistance, wrote Joshua from the One Free Korea.
Belarus: Police Crack Down on Minsk Protest
A non-violent rally in Minsk, organized via a social network, ended up with more than 450 people detained. Arrests, trials and numerous detentions, however, do not appear to have stopped the protesters.
Syria: “We Support Bashar and Want the World to Leave us Alone”
Do all Syrians hate Bashar Al Assad and his regime? An accusation that our coverage of the Syrian "revolution" at Global Voices Online has been one-sided, has sent us on a fascinating journey on the look out for supporters and their sentiments to developments in their country. Here are some of their reactions.
Macedonia: How the Protests Started
Tamara Atanasoska posts a personal account of the beginning of the protests against police brutality in Skopje, Macedonia: “We were walking, a handful of people, […] not knowing each other, hitting the streets to get attention. We just wanted an answer, someone to say what happened. We knew for sure...
Macedonia: Spreading the Word About the Protests, in Spanish
Sina (meaning “Blue female”) started a blog to spread the word about the protests against police brutality to a wider global audience. Her first post is in Spanish.
Egypt: A Decade of Street Activism Discussed at Tweet Nadwa
In what is set to become a weekly event, Egyptian Twitter users gathered once again for a second round of their twitter-simulating discussions known as Tweet Nadwa [ar] (forum) to discuss a decade of street activism leading up to the Egyptian revolution.
South Korea: Slut Walk in Seoul, Protesting Against Sexual Violence
Several students have staged one-person “SlutWalk” protests at Korea University’s front gate, demanding the school expel three male students from its medical school on charges of sexually assaulting a drunken female student during a school trip. South Korea's Wiki Tree site posted photos [ko] of the protests.
Bahrain: Opposition Leaders Sentenced to Jail
Opposition movements in Bahrain suffered a blow today after the military court, or National Security Court as it is called in Bahrain, sentenced 21 opposition figures to jail. Eight of them received life sentences. The sentences provoked criticism towards the regime of Bahrain because they came following calls for a national dialogue.
Iran: Paris Flashmob Marks Two Years Since Election
On June 12, 2011, to mark two years since Iran's disputed election, United4Iran and Move4Iran coordinated a flash mob in a Paris metro station to draw attention to ongoing human rights abuses in Iran.
Bulgaria: E-Book On Internet and Mobile Tracking
Bulgarian blogger and Internet activist Bogomil Shopov allows to download his latest e-book [bg; .pdf], which is about Internet tracking in Bulgaria and ways to avoid it. The e-book is 13 pages long and covers legal aspects of the monitoring, explains how the state is tracking Internet and mobile phone...
Cuba: Avidly Expecting #Twitthab
Blogger Iroel Sánchez (@iroelsanchez) comments on the controversies and expectations [es] surrounding the first offline meeting of Twitter users (#Twitthab) to be held in Havana on July 1st.
Africa: ‘Foreign Policy Twitterati 100′ Ignoring Africans ?
Following Forein Policy Magazine article on the 2011 ‘Twitterati 100′, blogger Pernille Bærendtsen posted an article: ‘THE FP TWITTERATI 100′ – WHERE ARE THE AFRICANS?’. The author notes that among the 100 listed, only two are Africans (President of Rwanda @Paul Kagame and Ugandan journalist @AndrewMwenda). @DambisaMoyo, Zambian author and...
