Stories about Digital Activism from July, 2011
Russia: President Medvedev's Gadgets Evaluated in a YouTube Video
YouTube user tebedam publishes a video [ru/en] entitled as “Medvedev is NOT corrupted,” that provides market prices for the gadgets president Medvedev had been spotted with on various photos, including Leica S2 camera (Price 22,995 US dollars), other top shelf Swiss watches, and a spacious Moscow flat. According to the...
Cuba: Killed for Stealing Fruit
“On the afternoon of July 15, 2011, the town of Mantilla…was shocked by the death of Angel Izquierdo Medina, a 14-year-old black teenager, who died from a gunshot to the femoral artery by Amado Interian, a retired police Major”: Laritza's Laws laments that the youth was killed for trying “to...
Hong Kong and China: Free Ai Weiwei
A remix music video for the Free Ai Weiwei campaign.
Cuba: BloggersCuba is back
The digital project BloggersCuba [es] has made a come back: “BC returns for those inside and outside the digital network, inside and outside Cuba, for those who are part of the island and want to live it with us. BloggersCuba has reborn, again, deeply spontaneous and free.”
Haiti: The Price of Work
Haiti Grassroots Watch, along with students from the Journalism Laboratory at the State University of Haiti’s Faculty of Human Sciences, investigates a “Cash for Work” program in the Ravine Pintade slum run by a US “non-profit” organization, and uncovers corruption, sexual abuse and social conflict.
Cuba: Defending “Las Damas”
Cuban bloggers continue to update their posts about the most recent attack on Las Damas de Blanco, in which members of the group were reportedly “attacked and brutally beaten…by agents of Castro State Security upon exiting a church sanctuary.”
Haiti: Student Murdered in DR
BELTIFI INC. republishes a news release about the murder of a Haitian student in the Dominican Republic, saying: “Our deepest condolences and prayers go out to the Lindor family.”
Russia: Women ‘Rip For Putin’ As Election Campaign War Begins
Russian 2012 presidential candidate Vladimir Putin is quickly catching up with his supposed rival Dmitry Medvedev in engaging guerrilla marketing techniques and new media to boost his campaign.
Iran: Rage Against Pre-Islamic Statues
It seems that even statues are not safe in Iran. Religious motives appear to be behind the recent theft and destruction of several bronze statues of Iranian national heroes from public places.
Kuwait: Bloggers Fight Internet Companies
In the past two months, Kuwaiti bloggers have campaigned against Internet companies in Kuwait which are enforcing a policy of limited bandwidth, steeply raising prices in the past year by agreeing between each other on the same prices, and killing the competition in the Internet market. Mona Kareem expands on this protest.
Serbia: Disgruntled Community Vs. Disgruntled Politician on Twitter
Serbia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vuk Jeremić, has instigated a social media situation that may seriously damage relations that local citizen media and some politicians have been building. The reaction from netizens has been one of outrage.
China: Campaigning for the Release of Female Activist Wang Lihong
The Chinese government has been arresting human right activists and political dissidents under the pretext of the Jasmine crack down. Many of the detainees have been released, but female activist, Wang Lihong, has been detained for 117 days with the court finally deciding to prosecute her last week. Netizens are rallying support.
Iran: Plight of seven detained netizens
Exactly one year after seven young netizens were arrested in a series of raids by intelligence ministry agents, Reporters Without Borders is reiterating the call for their release.
Russia/Belarus: Two More ‘Revolutionary’ Initiatives Appear Online
Ukraine-based Looo.ch launches [ru] street-art initiative called “Belarus Front of Street Art,” which idea is to spray word “Скоро” (“Soon”) on the streets of Belarus thus inspiring people to oppose the regime of Alexander Lukashenko. In Russia, the community “Crayon Revolution” [ru] calls people to draw “This government should resign”...
Macedonia: Media Allegations Against George Soros
Filip Stojanovski of Razvigor reports on disinformation in Macedonian media allegations that American businessman and philantropist, George Soros, would have sponsored the Albanian side during the Kosovo war to exploit new business opportunities.
China: Independent Candidates Busy Building Up Support
Amid a crackdown on a small but nationwide movement that has seen Chinese citizens from all walks of life declaring themselves candidates in their upcoming local district-level legislative elections, a few have pressed on, with ads, videos and endless tweets.
South Korea: Class Action Lawsuit Against Apple Draws About 20 Thousands
Around 20 thousand South Koreans have joined a class-action lawsuit against Apple via Sue Apple Korea [ko] website. Apple faces allegations that it violated local laws by tracking and storing iPhone user's location information without consent.
Bermuda: The Good Governance Act
“The Web has been around for 20 years now. It’s a pity the Bermuda Government has yet to use it to distribute the bills that have been tabled for debate in the House of Assembly…”: Still, Vexed Bermoothes manages to get a copy of the Good Governance Act and shares...
Morocco: A Personal Tale of Protest
The Moroccan pro-democracy movement known as February 20, struggles to communicate with the public amid a government-led campaign to discredit it. The movement primarily uses the Internet to explain its position and ideas. But it is the personal account of its own militants that impacts the wider public more starkly. Here is the moving story of one activist, Younes Loukili.
Malaysia: Facebook Netizens Want Prime Minister to Resign
A Facebook page demanding the resignation of Malaysia’s Prime Minister has gathered almost 200,000 supporters a few days after it was created. The campaign was initiated on the same day when thousands of people marched in the streets during the Bersih 2.0 pro-democracy rally which was violently dispersed by the police.
Russia-Middle East: Comparing the Fall of the Wall and the Arab Spring
Dr. Sean's Diary compares the difficulties of area studies in handling the fall of the commnist bloc in Central and Eastern Europe in the 1990s with that of the current Arab spring, against the backdrop of a recent Foreign Policy article.
