Stories about Digital Activism from October, 2011
Moldova, Russia: Controversial Russian Blogger Escapes Prosecution in Moldova
Russian blogger Eduard Bagirov was detained in Chisinau, Moldova, this June and charged with organizing the April 2009 post-election riots there. He was released and placed under house arrest but soon escaped to Russia. While some Russian bloggers question Bagirov's motives and integrity, many seem to trust him.
Bangladesh: Occupy Dhaka, Joining the Movement Against the 1%
Occupy Wall Street and We Are 99%, the peaceful protests that started last month in New York City's financial capital have already spread in many countries of the world. Hundreds of Bangladeshis have joined in protests titled "Occupy Dhaka" in solidarity with the campaigns.
Hungary: Oct. 23 Opposition Rally
Hungarian Spectrum and The Contrarian Hungarian write about the Oct. 23 anti-government rally, organized through a Facebook community called Egymillióan a magyar sajtószabadságért [hu; 88,272 ‘likes’]/One Million for the Freedom of Press in Hungary [en; 720 ‘likes’] – and about a pro-government rally, which was scheduled to take place on...
Trinidad & Tobago: Tweeting for Anya
Globewriter attended the Project Runway party yesterday evening, which Trinidadian designer and finalist Anya Ayoung-Chee attended via Skype.
Cuba: One Week After Pollan's Death
Notes from the Cuban Exile Quarter examines the new reality of the Ladies in White one week after Laura Pollan's death.
Brazil: Belo Monte Dam Case Comes to Court
The Brazilian justice system has provided new fuel to the protesting voices against the Belo Monte hydroelectric power plant, after its construction begun in June 2011. A lawsuit filed in 2006 by the state of Pará was brought to court on October 17.
Cuba: Pollan's Death & the State Health Care System
Cuban bloggers report that some Cuban dissidents do not trust state hospitals after the death of Laura Pollan; babalu translates a blog post claiming that Pollan's hair and skin samples were collected before her cremation with the intention of sending them to an independent lab “in the hopes of determining...
Chile: Transsexuals Demand a Place in Postponed Anti-Discrimination Law
An anti-discrimination law is up for vote in Chile. It would ban any prejudice based on race, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and more. Although it offers new protection to often-marginalized groups, transsexuals didn’t make the cut. Now, they're demanding inclusion.
Russia: 7 Temporarily Detained During the President's Meeting with Journalism Students
7 journalism students (among others @kichanova, @rise_rebel and @ave_katerina) were detained during the meeting of the president Medvedev at the Journalism department of the Moscow State University,Vitaliy Shushkevich tweets [ru] (also see photo [ru]). They were temporarily detained for contemplating a political action and were released only after Medvedev had left the...
Saudi Arabia: Men Arrested Over Poverty Video
Two Saudi men were arrested last Sunday October 16th in what seems to be a reaction to a video posted on their YouTube channel showing poverty in Riyadh. Through microblogging platforms, people have shown their support for the two videographers. A subtitled version of the video can be viewed here....
Ecuador: International Free Culture Congress Held in Quito
Juan Arellano has published two Storify posts with tweets covering the first [es] and second [es] days of the International Free Culture Congress [es] held in Quito, Ecuador on October 17 and 18, 2011.
Italy: October 15 Protest Turns Violent in Rome
This post is part of our special coverage #Occupy Worldwide. Inspired by the “Occupy Wall Street” movement in New York and by the Spanish “Indignados”, citizens in 951 cities and 82 countries across the world took to the streets on October 15, 2011, to protest against the stranglehold on the...
France: The Twittosphere Pokes Fun at the Presidential Election Campaign
As can be seen on social networking sites like Twitter, the 2012 presidential campaign is well and truly underway in France. The left wing Primaries have animated the media landscape over the last couple of weeks, and resulted in François Hollande being named the Socialist Party (PS) representative. On Twitter, many Trending topics make reference to the up coming elections and are provoking amused reactions.
Cuba: Journalist Held While Trying to Pay Respects to Pollan
Uncommon Sense reports that “the Cuban independent journalist and blogger Dania Virgen Garcia Garcia was beaten and arrested…while trying to attend a gathering at the home of the late Laura Pollan.”
Puerto Rico: Animal Rights
Dondequiera says that “Puerto Rico has seen some horrible abuses with respect to animal cruelty”, adding that the high kill rate at animal shelters is essentially “a funding problem.”
Why Occupy Singapore Failed
It seems Singaporeans are preoccupied with something else because nobody showed up in the OccupyRafflesPlace event which could have been the Singapore equivalent of the Occupy Wall Street protest. Bloggers discuss the failure and prospects of the initial attempt to 'Occupy Singapore'
India: ZaraBol – The Micro-Blogging Site
Anupam Saxena at Medianama reviews ZaraBol, the new Micro-Blogging site launched by Rediff.
Cuba: Remembering Laura Pollan
Four days after her death, the online tributes are still pouring in for Laura Pollan, the late leader of one of Cuba's most recognized and respected opposition groups, Las Damas de Blanco. Many bloggers want to continue their fight for human rights while others just want to remember their friend and hero.
Trinidad & Tobago: Children & the Internet
In the wake of a controversy in which a teacher was allegedly involved in a sexual relationship with a student [the situation came to light because of photos he posted online], blogger Mark Lyndersay posts an interview in which he discusses ways in which parents can help manage children's use...
Russia: Newspaper Leaks Plans to Discredit Anti-Corruption Blogger
“United Russia” had ordered a massive plan (worth of ~320,000 US dollars) to discredit anti-corruption blogger Alexey Navalny, Novaya Gazeta writes [ru]. The campaign might include compromising footage with Navalny's look-alike involved in some illegal and/or immoral activities.
Russia: Photoblogger Launches New Citizen Media Agency
Ilya Varlamov, popular photoblogger, officially launches [ru] Ridus.ru, news agency dedicated to the citizen media in Russia. Its ‘special projects’ section [ru] tells about new and already existing civil society movements that deal with environmental issues, traffic violations, illegal development in the historic parts of the cities, freedom of photography...
