Stories about Digital Activism from June, 2011
Cuba: Worry About Hunger Striker
“The regime cracked down on him once against after he assumed the posture of NOT ceasing his anti-government activities”: Pedazos de La Isla blogs about the hunger striker Jorge Cervantes Garcia.
Macedonia: Reasons for Protesting
Bloggers from Macedonia consider the historical significance of the current protests against police brutality, in the context of democracy development.
Malawi: Citizens “Fuel” Facebook for Gas Updates
Malawians have been queuing up for hours for fuel since last year. The severe shortage of fuel has affected thousands of motorists, passengers and businesses. As one way of updating one another on latest fuel supplies at gas stations, Malawians are using a Facebook group called Malawi Fuel Watch.
Palestine: Call to Free Khaled Zawahre
Occupied Palestine shares the plight of Khaled Zawahre, who is detained in Ofer prison, allegedly for beating up an Israeli soldier and throwing rocks. Occupied Palestine maintains Khaled's innocence and shares photographs and videos.
Malaysia: Government website receives hacking threat
A group called Anonymous, warned that it will launch a cyber attack against a Malaysian government website on Thursday morning.
South Korea: Petition Filed to Punish Brutality against Animals
Public anger rose as an animal TV show aired a story of a dog brutally beaten with a stick by a stranger for no reason. Net users have filed an online petition [ko], calling the authority to focus more on capturing the culprit. Over 50 thousand people have signed the...
Egypt: Exploring Twitter’s Potential on the Ground
Micro-blogging site Twitter has become an important discussion forum for young Egyptians since the start of the revolution, writes Lilian Wagdy. Activists recently hosted a Twitter forum (Nadwa) which brought users to discuss the issue of Islamists face to face. Lilian Wagdy sums up reactions to the event.
Russia: Bloggers Discuss the Fall of Russian Newspapers
A spate of firings at the nearly century old Russian daily Izvestia as well as the online news site Gzt.ru has journalist appealing to the public for their jobs, as the blogosphere questions the merits of the “old guard” journalists.
Cuba: Confronting Fate
“Death always makes you reflect. In front of the mirror you tell yourself, “You too are at the mercy of the same power that took the lives of those dissidents. What are you waiting for? What will be your fate?”: Laritza Diversent realises that her fate is “the same as...
Belarus: Crowdsourced DDoS Attack Attempts to Put Down President's Website
The website of Belorusian president Alexander Lukashenko is under attack by a crowdsourced DDoS attack hosted by PutinVzrivayetDoma.org, lenta.ru reported [ru]. @putinvzrivaet explained the purpose[ru]: “Because he [Lukashenko] had blew such a country.” Previously, Ukraine-based @putinvzrivaet scheduled attacks on many other commercial and political websites. So far, however, presidential website is accessible.
U.S.V.I.: Thinking About Transfer Day
“On March 31st of 2017, the territory will have been an American possession for exactly one century”: A Nation or Nobody suggests that as the U.S. Virgin Islands approaches this milestone, it must “not lose sight of the fact that we are not at the end of history and our...
Singapore: ‘Save the World’s Saddest Dolphins’ Campaign
Twenty-five dolphins caught in the wild are being held in captivity in a Singapore gaming and spa resort. Animal lovers and netizens have launched a campaign demanding the release of these dolphins.
Macedonia: Spreading the Word About Protest and Civic Journalism
IT.com.mk has published an interview [mk] about civic journalism with Vnukot, the blogger who is providing a consistent coverage of the protests against police brutality in Skopje. Also, Al Jazeera has scheduled [mk] an interview with him during the evening of June 13 (around 9 p.m. CET).
Puerto Rico: Uproar Over Blogger's Story
An anonymous blogger's post narrating how she was insulted by a public official spread through the Puerto Rican blogosphere and social media, and made waves in the mainstream media. The incident has been confirmed. Here is "Yuyu's" story and reactions from netizens.
Macedonia: Protests Against Police Brutality/Murder Cover-Up Spread
Macedonians have been protesting for 5 days online and offline in Skopje, urging the authorities to "solve" the murder of a young man by a police officer who served as a high-ranking official's bodyguard. On Friday, youth from other cities - Bitola, Strumica, Kochani - took to the streets, too.
Cuba: Tamayo's Arrival
Diaspora bloggers chronicle the arrival of Reina Luisa Tamayo (mother of the late Cuban dissident Orlando Zapata Tamayo) in the United States.
Iran: Ministry of Intelligence, Spy and Social networking
Iran's Ministry of Intelligence announced [fa] “a spy who wanted to organize a social networking to disturb Iran's Majlis (parliement) election was arrested”. Islamic Republic accused US government to spend several millons dollars to achieve this goal.
Macedonia: Shameless Refusal to Accept Responsibility
Andre Valé, a Portuguese living in Macedonia, wrote about the smoke-screen by responsible authorities, their media cronies, and the interior minister's “shameless” refusal to accept political responsibility for the killing of Martin Neshkovski at the celebration of the election victory by the ruling party, which leads the country down a...
Sri Lanka: Blogging About Things That Matter
Lefroy thinks that Sri Lankan blogosphere is on the decline and the blogger wishes bloggers would write “about things that matter: things like politics and religion instead of their sad little lives, but always with great passion and conviction”.
Trinidad & Tobago: Enforcing Road Rules
“Of all the plagues in our society that require urgent attention, far and away the easiest one to deal with is the scourge of needless death due to drag racing and fast driving beyond the speed limit”: Plain Talk has a few suggestions for dealing with the problem.
Russia: 6 Months of Suspended Sentence and a Destroyed Laptop for a Forum Comment
Yuri Yegorov, blogger from Tatarstan and a former employee of the regional government, has been sentenced with 6 months of suspended sentence for a libelling, openinform.ru reported [ru]. Additionally, the court ruled out to destroy Yegorov's laptop ‘as a weapon of crime.’ Yegorov published information on corruption in the office...
