Stories about Protest from July, 2010
Brazil: Nomad Tribe Protest to Prove Its Existence
Altino Machado blogs on the tribe Awá-Guajá, a group of nomad indigenous who emerged from the heart of the Amazon forest to prove their existence [pt] and to demand that their land be protected from invasion. Survival International also reported on the story.
Philippines: Opposition to Rail Transit Fare Hikes
Metro Manila commuters of the Metro Rail Transit will be facing fare hikes as the Philippine government plans to abandon subsidies for the public transportation because of rising operation and maintenance costs. Bloggers react
Chile: Mapuche on Hunger Strike over Anti-terror Law
On July 12, 2010, fourteen Mapuche indigenous detainees began a hunger strike to denounce the Chilean State’s treatment of Mapuche communities in southern Chile. The strike is aimed mainly at ending the use of Chile’s Anti-terrorism Law against Mapuche prisoners, a Pinochet-era decree widely used during the seventeen years of the Pinochet dictatorship.
Russia: Interview With ‘A Good Treaty’ Russia Blogger
Sublime Oblivion interviews the author of A Good Treaty blog, continuing the Watching the Russia Watchers interview series that was launched by Andy Young of Siberian Light.
Italy: NO to Restrictions on Online Free Speech
A newly revised Media and Wiretapping bill before the Italian parliament today could introduce a threatening "liability risk" for all bloggers and online media.
Russia: Forest Park Defenders Attack Khimki City Administration
User berillii posts [RUS] a footage of the storming of the Khimki city administration [EN] by anarchists and antifascists that took side of the Khimki forest park defenders. LJ-user mmet supplies photos of the event. A peaceful meeting grew to a chaotic demonstration, after authorities once again detained [RUS] the...
Bangladesh: Minimum Wages Raised In Garments Sector
After long protests and bargaining with the employers and the workers, the Bangladesh Government has decided to raise the minimum wages to Tk. 3000 per month ($44) which is approximately double of the current minimum wages. Bloggers discuss how this impacts the workers and the industry.
India: RTI Activist Murdered
On the 20th of this month, 33yr old Amit Jethwa, a prominent environmentalist and Right to Information (RTI) activist was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen opposite the Gujarat High Court in Ahmedabad, India. Netizens react with shock and anger.
Iran: Campaign to Free Jailed Photo-Blogger Hamed Saber
More than 70 Iranian university graduates and academics are calling for the release of Hamed Saber, an Iranian photo-blogger and computer scientist who was arrested for unknown reasons on 21 June 2010 in Tehran.
Brazil: Limits on Food Ads Shake Market Forces
The Federal Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency has ruled changes in food advertising to include warnings printed on packages, amidst strong industry reaction. Do consumers have a say in this debate?
Brazil: Collaborative Website on Street Dwellers
Maria Frô talks about the new website FalaRua [Street Talking], dedicated to the street dwellers of Brazil. The online community offers information about the Project for Training and Strengthening of Street Dwellers and invites everyone to participate through a quick registration. [all links in Portuguese]
Taiwan: Rice fields outside the Presidential Office
On July 18th, Taiwanese farmers transformed the Presidential Office into rice fields, not for creating a city garden, but for a protest to the Land Expropriation Act.
Cuba: remembering Zapata Tamayo
Uncommon Sense argues that the recent release of Cuban dissidents was triggered by the death of activist Orlando Zapata Tamayo in early 2010, after a hunger strike. “Events of the past five months, culminating with the release of the 20 prisoners and the promised release of others, have proven that...
Russia: Unknown People in Masks and Police Attack Environmentalists
From 20 to 40 young people in white masks attacked the camp of the defenders of the Khimki forest park [RUS], Igor Podgorny [RUS] and Novaya Gazeta [RUS] reported. The police intervention didn't help – instead several environmentalists and journalists were detained.
Panama: Questioning Strength of Panamanian Democracy After Protests Against Law 30 and Martinelli
Pilar Chato writes [es] for the blog Oye about the recent violent protests by banana plantation workers in Bocas del Toro that lasted nine days and, as she reports, left “700 detained, hundreds injured and various dead.” She goes on to say that protests against the government of Ricardo Martinelli have escalated:...
Hong Kong: Citizen campaign to save Tai Long Beach
Many people have the impression that Hong Kong is a concrete forest made up with high rise buildings. However, actually 75% of the land in this global city is undeveloped country side. Such landscape is an unintended result of the colonial history, when after the WWII, the British government tried...
Russia: “Why Did They Kill Yuri Volkov?”
The murder of a TV journalist and football fan Yuri Volkov in the centre of Moscow on July 10, 2010, became a widely discussed event in the Russian blogosphere. A complicated topic, dealing with hostile ethnic stereotypes, crime, police corruption and Russian subcultures, has generated nearly 7,000 comments, tweets and blog posts.
Puerto Rico: the CAC games begin
The Central American and Caribbean Games are under way in Puerto Rico. Gil the Jenius criticises the organisers for “mismanagement” and “incompetence”, and reports on the controversial use of hidden cameras for surveillance of protesters by the police.
Bermuda: municipalities takeover
Vexed Bermoothes opposes the Bermuda government’s plan to take over the operations and services of the country’s municipalities, including those of the capital, Hamilton.
Russia: ‘Orthodoxy or Death’ to Degenerate Art?
"Orthodoxy or death!" is the war cry sounded in recent weeks as forces of religious reaction have entered into fierce battle with liberal arts, in an apparent Russian parallel to the Muhammad cartoon case. The cause of conflict is the trial and conviction of two art curators for a 2007 Moscow exhibition of contemporary art.
Russia: Memorial memento
LJ user shoorman notes [RUS] that the liberal St. Petersburg Yabloko youth organization has beaten the region's communists to placing a memorial placard to a local communist on a building he used to live in. An adjoining photo illustrates that the functionary's key accomplishment – according to Yabloko youth –...
