Stories about Digital Activism from April, 2008
Trinidad & Tobago: Sticker Shock
KnowPRosE.com “was pleasantly surprised to find that the Trinidad Guardian subscription is available on Amazon.com” – and then he saw the price: “I suppose Trinidad and Tobago media just doesn't want to compete at a global level…They need to figure out the Internet, which probably means that they should use...
Barbados, Jamaica: Up In Arms
“Twenty-eight years after Bob performed ‘Zimbabwe’, Robert Mugabe is still holding on desperately to power and it seems that he will use any tactic necessary to continue his dictatorship. Now the Chinese are involved”: Both Bajan Global Report and Jamaican Geoffrey Philp blog about an alleged Chinese arms shipment to...
St. Lucia: Oil and Food Prices
As oil prices hit US $120 per barrel, Looshan Ramblings says: “The…continued rise in oil prices will negate any efforts by Caricom governments to reduce food prices as we are so heavily dependent on imported food.”
Guyana: Who Let The Dogs Out?
Guyana-Gyal‘s neighbourhood could do with a dog whisperer.
Brazil: Improving the police by the inside
The Blog da Segurança Pública [“Public Security Blog”, in Portuguese], from Brasília, lists 10 possible and affordable improvements[Pt] that would make Brasília policemen's lives better, thus improving their performance at their work too. The blog reports successful experiences made by the police of other Brazilian states.
China: Anti-CNN Virtual Demonstration
Some netizens in China have organized a virtual demonstration against western media and in support of the Beijing Olympics at the Second City (a virtual game). via Anti-CNN.
Egyptian activists released
Two Egyptian activists, Esraa Abdel Fattah Ahmed, who launched the “6 April” Facebook group and blogger Mohamed Sharkawy, have been released. Both Esraa and Sharkawy were arrested on 5 April while distributing leaflets announcing the 6 April strike.
Lithuania: Bloggers’ Conference
Babel in Vilnius reports on the second Lithuanian bloggers conference – BLOGin 2008 – held in Vilnius in early April.
Estonia: Dozor Night Game
AnTyx writes about playing the Dozor Night Game in Estonia, which “[grew] out of games that have been played for centuries; and certainly after the fall of the Soviet Union every young boy (and a surprising share of girls) all over its former territory went crawling around crumbling industrial parks....
Egypt: Esraa Update
Egyptian blogger Zeinobia updates us about the whereabouts of Esraa Abdelfattah, who was jailed in Egypt for allegedly creating a Facebook group which encouraged people to take part in the April 6 strike.
Blogging in Syria
Syrian Abu Fares marks his blog’ second anniversary with a post about blogging in his country.
Haiti, Martinique: Remembering
kiskeácity remembers two influential Caribbean icons.
Trinidad & Tobago: Official Graffiti?
“On an abandoned wall in Port of Spain, a graffiti artist declares the right for public art”: Thebookmann explains.
Bermuda: Road Safety
Bermuda Longtail blogs about legislating road safety.
Jamaica: Earth Day
Jamaican Geoffrey Philp says: “Today is Earth Day, a time to pause and think about the environment and the impact that we are having on our ecosystem.”
Haiti: Hunger Crisis
“Thirty years ago, Haiti raised nearly all the rice it needed. What happened?” asks Blog de Port-au-Prince, as it examines the causes of Haiti's hunger riots.
Trinidad & Tobago, Bahamas: Rising Food Prices
KnowProSE.com blogs about the reality of rising food prices in Trinidad and Tobago, while Craig Butler at Bahama Pundit connects the rising price of food to the level of poverty in the Bahamas.
Cuba: Damas de Blanco
As “a group of Cuban women peacefully demonstrating for the release of their jailed husbands were roughed up by a mob and arrested”, Cuban bloggers speak out…Babalu: “The regime still fears free thinkers and political opposition”; Uncommon Sense: “Freedom in Cuba — for the brave men on whose behalf these...
Jamaica: Flood Waters
Montego Bay Day By Day posts photos (not her own) of the recent flood in Jamaica's St. Ann Parish, which also affected the resort town of Ocho Rios.
Uzbekistan, Ukraine: Tashkent Blacksmith and His Children
A monument to an Uzbek family that adopted 15 children during WWII has recently been dismantled in Tashkent. Below is a Ukrainian blogger's moving story of how her father helped one of these adopted children find his biological family.
Egypt: Blogger Sharqawi Released
From Egypt, Hossam El Hamalawy announced the release of blogger Mohammed Al Sharqawi – but is concerned about the welfare of other detainees who have gone ‘missing.’ Sharqawi was arrested during the April 6 strike, which was a protest against inflation and which called for better wages for workers.
