Stories about Ideas from April, 2011
Philippines: Solar lighting project
Isang Litrong Liwanag (A Liter of Light), is a “sustainable lighting project in the Philippines which aims to bring the eco-friendly Solar Bottle Bulb to underprivileged communities nationwide”
Egypt: “I really sympathize with Mubarak”
Hany George, an Egyptian blogger and activist shares a true story from Tahrir Square that he dedicates to all the people who still sympathize with ousted president Hosni Mubarak as he is detained and prosecuted in Egypt.
Egypt: Gene Sharp Taught Us How To Revolt!
Last February, The New York Times wrote an article about the political science professor, Gene Sharp, whose ideas were credited as being an inspiration for the Egyptian revolution, as well as many other uprisings in the region. Egyptian netizens respond to the claim with the hashtag on Twitter.
Cuba: True Democracy
“If young gang members are sentenced to several years behind the bars for robbing a gas station, the same should apply to bankers, managers, financiers, or even presidents of countries if they engage in corruption”: Iván García fears that “democracy is stammering.”
Suriname: Mickey Mouse Art
Mickey Mouse as “a customized symbol for progress”? Srananart's Blog explains.
Cuba: Targeting Bloggers?
“The personal freedoms of members of the alternative blogosphere are at risk after the official media publicly accused them of being mercenaries”: Laritza Diversent says that referring to bloggers in this way is “completely groundless”, adding: “It is very possible that, by using the State-controlled media, they are preparing an...
Jamaica: Divine Poetry
Diaspora litblogger Geoffrey Philp says of Kwame Dawes’ poem Shook Foil: “There is a divine symmetry of the human with music and the landscape– evidence of a ‘natural mystic’ transforming the mundane into the miraculous.”
Guyana: Giving Fish a Bad Name
Boy, does Guyana-Gyal have a fish story for you!
Japan: Quakebook, a book born on Twitter
Journalist and blogger Jake Adelstein presents Quakebook [en], “a compilation of art, stories, and essays to raise money for Japan earthquake survivors” which started with a single tweet. The book, officially titled 2:46: Aftershocks: Stories from the Japan Earthquake, was co-written by popular writers and artists and 100% of revenue...
Cuba: No Questions Asked
“We have to see Fidel Castro as a piece of living history. A stream of bright ideas…the only comandante. The man who never makes mistakes”: Iván García would like to comment.
Jamaica: Cruel Cartoon?
Jamaica Woman Tongue has her say about cartoonist Clovis Brown’s recent caricature of Vybz Kartel: “The genuine wit of the stinging editorial cartoon appears to have degenerated into little more than vulgar gutter sniping.”
Bahamas: The Play's the Thing
“It’s got the story, it’s got the characters, and it’s got the timing to make it succeed for the moment. But what it should be looking to do is to last…it’s not enough to write a play that inspires us just to laugh. What is required is the production of...
Cuba: Threat of the Internet
“In Cuba, access to the internet is restricted and very expensive for citizens, but it is also controlled by state institutions”: Laritza Diversent explains.
Guyana: Men's Issues
CODE RED weighs in on the fact that Guyana has launched a Men’s Affairs Bureau, saying: “It seems that Caribbean governments are unable to address men’s issues outside of a framework of re-inscribing male dominance…if the intention is to ensure men’s right to a good life why is men’s violence...
Guyana: Losing Your Religion
“Each cast different blame. Your country fault. Your religion fault. And none can see that both is wrong…”: Guyana-Gyal thinks that many of the world's problems could be solved if people would actually listen.
Trinidad & Tobago: On Race
“We need to work hard at bringing all of our people back fully into the national family if we ever hope to advance as a nation…”: Plain Talk tackles the issue of racism.
Cuba: Blame it on the Culture?
Octavo Cerco is reticent to blame Cuba's problems on its culture.
Trinidad & Tobago: Equal Representation
“Mohammed made an ill-advised move earlier in his appointment in a confrontation with two police officers and lost a lot of credibility thereafter, and there was subsequently a national petition to have him removed from office–but surely the bigger picture is that he is right about the imbalance in the...
Bermuda: Confronting Crime
Respice Finem says of the growing crime problem: “When we act decisively to confront the social malaise coming out of the impoverished neighbourhoods that all too often provided the breeding ground for violence we will have made progress.”
Costa Rica: Video Game Based on Real Time Tweets Seeks Funding
Six young video game designers in Costa Rica are looking for crowd-sourced funding for TweetLand, their real-time twitter powered games. The games are called Route 140 and LoveCity and both use real time twitter updates to influence actions that take place during the game.
Trinidad & Tobago: Mohammed's Sacking
“Trinidad’s unerring instinct to do the wrong thing at the wrong time continues in spades,” says B.C. Pires of the firing of the Police Service Commission Chair, adding: “Instead of Nizam Mohammed being made to see the error of his ways, he has now been made a martyr.”
