Stories about Digital Activism from December, 2013
South Korea: Class-action Suit Against Key Players of Election Manipulation
Marking a year after the latest presidential election tainted with allegations of political tampering, attorney Han Woong, together with 610 plaintiffs, filed a civil lawsuit [ko] against those who are allegedly responsible for the election manipulation scandal. Han accused ex-President Lee Myung-bak, former head of the NIS (National Intelligence Service), ex-Commissioner of the Seoul...
South Korean Education Ministry Discourages Students’ Poster Movement
As South Korean university students’ ‘We Are Not Fine!’ poster movement spreads like wildfire across the country, even up to the point of motivating high, junior high and elementary students [ko] to write their own, the Ministry of Education has given notice to schools to control students’ poster-making in order...
Photos of Mass Candlelight Rallies in South Korea
By holding candlelight rallies across the country, frustrated South Koreans have voiced flooding concerns over current political developments and series of scandals, including the snowballing election manipulation allegations. @Emfla505 tweeted [ko] this stunning photo of protest in Seoul (below) and WikiTree.com site gathered more photos of rallies on December 19. 오늘 서울시청 광장입니다! 민노총의 깃발이 빠져 나가고...
Japan's Open Data Catalog Launches Beta Version
Data.go.jp, a website that aggregates publicly available data by Ministries and Agencies of the Japanese government, launched its Beta version on December 20, 2013. Datasets by 21 governmental organizations and 567 groups are available under Creative Commons License Attribution 2.1 Japan detailed in the Terms of Use. This comes as a...
Ukrainian Netizens Draft A Digital #Euromaidan Manifesto
As Euromaidan protests in Ukraine enter their second month, Ukrainian social media users have started circulating a Digital Euromaidan Manifesto [uk] drafted by their fellow netizens. Below is the English translation of the full original statement: Digital Euromaidan Manifesto We, the Ukrainian Internet users united by Euromaidan principles of non-violent...
#Kality Tweet Chat on Ethiopian Imprisoned Journalists
Join Tweet chat on Ethiopian imprisoned journalist using the hashtag #Kality: Ethiopian journalists Reeyot Alemu and Eskinder Nega have been locked up in Ethiopia’s Kality prison since 2011 – simply for being journalists trying to hold their government accountable for its actions. Although they have been honored with numerous prestigious...
Mapping the ‘Urban Commons’ of Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul and Athens
Pablo de Soto's research project discusses the control governments have over societies' shared goods, and establishes a connection between the commons and production as collectively owned resources.
3 Initiatives Working to Make Niger a Better Place
Positive stories from Niger are a few and far between these days, thanks to economic hardship combined with threats of terrorism. Three projects are trying to change that.
New Version of Brazil's Marco Civil Submitted to the House of Representatives
On December 11, congressman Alessandro Molon (PT-RJ) submitted to the Brazilian House of Representatives the new version of the Marco Civil.
Bangla Blogging Community Gears Up For The Fifth Bangla Blog Day
On December 15, 2005, Bangla Blogging started its journey through the largest Bangla Blogging platform Somewherein.net [bn] and the community grew larger every year. A section of the Bangla bloggers’ community started to observe December 19 as Bangla Blog Day since 2009. The fifth Bangla Blog day will be celebrated...
Dozens Detained on Human Rights Day in Cuba
Bloggers, punk rockers, intellectuals, dissidents, and a pair of Argentine tourists were all detained in Cuba last week, just in time for international Human Rights Day.
The Economics of Ukraine's #Euromaidan [INFOGRAPHIC]
A Ukrainian news portal specializing in data visualization, Newsplot.org [ru], has published an infographic [ru] outlining the costs and necessities of the Euromaidan protests in Kyiv:
A French Version of NSA Electronic Surveillance Program?
Etienne Papin, a Paris-based lawyer expert in internet rights, explains the details of a bill that was approved by the French Senate on December 10: La loi de programmation militaire (Military Planning Act). He describes the bill as the French version of NSA mass electronic surveillance data mining program [fr]...
New Website Collects Reports and Data About Bribes in Hungary
Hungary, like many other countries in the region, has an on-going corruption problem on almost every level of governance. A new project created by investigative website Átlátszó.hu and Transparency International, Fizettem.hu, has taken on the task of collecting reports from citizens about cases of bribery and corruption in the country....
Bulgaria Marks Six Months of Continued Protests
December 14, 2013, marked six months of anti-government protests in Bulgaria, where protesters still gather daily in Sofia and other cities, demanding the resignation of the current government, led by the Socialist Party. After the previous government stepped down after similar protests in February 2013, the new government, elected in...
Ukraine: Live Streamed Monitoring of District Election Commissions
Amidst ongoing Euromaidan rallies throughout Ukraine, repeat elections have been held in five troubled single-mandate constituencies in the country, where results could not be confirmed during the 2012 Parliamentary election. In order to increase the transaprency of the electoral process, a non-government organization, Civil Network OPORA [uk, en] is preparing...
Russia's Government Might Block Websites for Calls to Unsanctioned Rallies
The Russian parliament will soon vote on a law that would empower the Prosecutor General’s office to close any website that hosts content encouraging people to attend unsanctioned rallies.
Bangladesh Executes Islamist Leader Abdul Quader Mollah for War Crimes
Abdul Quader Mollah was the first to die for war crimes committed during Bangladesh's struggle for independence. His execution sparked a wave of deadly violence from supporters, leaving several dead.
South Korea: Students Voice Dissent Against Korea Railroad's Mass Layoff
South Korea's state-owned railway operator, Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL), has laid off an unprecedented number of more than 7,600 workers [ko] within a week as it decided to set up a subsidiary for new high-speed train operations, which critics call ‘a prelude to privatization of the nation's rail system’. Inspired by a student at...
South Korea's ‘Gas Tank Grandpas’ Block Protests in US
Violent right-wing extremists 'Gas Tank Grandpas' blocked peaceful protests held in the United States against the spy agency election manipulation scandal.
Bangladesh: Where Will The Non-Muslim Go?
Subrata Shuvo at Banglablogging platform Amra Bondhu (We are friends) shares the fear and plights of Non-Muslims as racial attacks on them are on the rise, especially during the political disturbances. He shares a story from Chittagong: পঞ্চাশ টাকা দিয়ে এক মাতালকে বলেছিল মসজিদে ঢিল মারতে। মাতাল কথামতন তাই করল।...
