Stories about Feature from December, 2008
Malawi: First Web Awards & Presidential Facebookers
The popularity of social media in Malawi is on the rise, as shown by the first Malawian web awards taking place this month, and by both the current President of Malawi and the previous one having Facebook profiles and fan pages.
Mexico: Shoeshiner Uses YouTube to Increase Business
Shoeshiner Juan Luna has come up with a clever way to attract business to his stand located in downtown Monterrey, Mexico. With the help of a friend, he posted a video on YouTube demonstrating his unique way of shining shoes with a brush in each hand. As a result, he has received more business from clients eager to see the shoeshiner in person. Blogger Issa Villarreal interviewed Luna to learn about his marketing strategy.
Hong Kong: Pride Parade 2008 – Celebrate Love
In this coming weekend (13 of December), a coalition of civic groups will organize a pride parade to celebrate diverse love expression. Although Hong Kong is a global city, to organize this parade is not easy at all, the government, public service sector and conservative Christians do not even try to hide their discrimination.
Taiwan: The government could not wait to harvest wild strawberries
The forced eviction of Wild Strawberries Movement at the Freedom Square this morning (Dec 11), just a few hours after the International Human Rights Day, shows the Taiwan government's hypocrisy in the implementation of human rights .
Australia rallies to “Stop the Clean Feed”
The Australian blogosphere has largely come together to protest a government internet filtering scheme that will require Internet Service Providers to offer a “Clean-Feed” service to all homes, schools and public access points to the internet.
Cuba: Human Rights Day
Today is International Human Rights Day - an annual reminder of the day on which the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights back in 1948. Sixty years later, Cuban bloggers (particularly from the diaspora) remain vocal about the many human rights abuses that plague the island of their birth.
DR Congo: Human Rights and Gender Violence Situation in North Kivu
Today is International Human Rights Day as well as the last day of the campaign "16 days of activism against gender violence" but in many parts of the world there's not much to celebrate on those fronts, as shown by this roundup of blogs by aid workers in North Kivu.
Thailand: Foreigner who stayed in the airport blockade
Majority of foreigners stayed away from Bangkok airports two weeks ago. But there was a foreigner who stayed inside the airport blockade. Janus Putkonen from Finland joined the protesters for five days and nights. Fortunately he had a video camera.
Greece: Riots in Athens Continue
For the past three days, the capital of Greece, Athens, has been rocked by demonstrations and rioting as thousands have taken to the streets in protest at the fatal shooting by a police officer of 15-year old Alexandros Grigoropoulos in the Athens district of Exarchia on December 6, 2008.
Brazil: Deadly chemical leak kills 80 ton fish in Rio de Janeiro
On November 18, a leak of deadly endosulfan pesticide into the Pirapetinga river killed over 80 tonnes of fish, plus water hogs, tortoises, birds, and others creatures. The tragedy was worsened by the fact that it happened during breeding season for many species, some of which are under threat of extinction. After a suspension of 20 days only, the company responsible for the accident resumed operations today. Bloggers react.
Paraguay: The First 100 Days of Lugo's Presidency
The first 100 days have passed since Paraguay’s elected President Fernando Lugo assumed power last August. Paraguayans were eager for a change, a change that had raised so many expectations from the new President, who was an cx-bishop and from his cabinet. Some bloggers took time to write about the first 100 days of Lugo's Presidency.
Libya: Eid Al – Adha 2008
After a long hiatus, Libyan bloggers are back at work behind their keyboards, wishing each other a happy Eid, discussing the increasing prices and reflecting on Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca which Muslims perform. Fozia Mohamed tunes in to bring us the story.
Twittering the Ghanaian Elections
While the use of Twitter has become quite popular in some countries, it is still a very new tool in other regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa. However, it has proven to be an efficient way to quickly share information in times of political changes such as yesterday's Presidential and Parliamentary elections in Ghana as shown by this Twitter roundup.
Egypt: Change the Channel Initiative
During the past few months, Egyptians have been haunted with catastrophic headlines and top stories on a daily basis. Amid this grim, Egyptian bloggers decided to revolt against the country's current rueful state and bring out some positive energy to the surface through the “Change the Channel” campaign.
Video:What image opened your eyes to human rights?
The sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is on December 10th, and Witness' The Hub team has put together a video that responds to the question: What images have opened your eyes to Human Rights? The video is online right now and with it they are asking all of us to participate by showing and telling the world about the power images have had in making us care about Human Rights.
China: Official report — political aristocracy has ruled national wealth
National wealth, as an dauntingly open article in public media suggests, has almost been monopolized by the class of political power. What makes the matter worse is that, the privilege has been passed on to the next generation.
Croatia: The Anti-Sanader Facebook Group Controversy
A group called, "I bet you'll find that in 5000 Facebook users who do not like Sanader!" was formed on Facebook in criticism of Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader. In addition to the creator of the group being detained by police, it has incited Croatian citizens who are realizing that their freedom of speech is being threatened.
Cuba: Government Officials Tell Bloggers to Cancel Planned Meeting
A Cuban blogger meet-up scheduled for December 6 is in danger of being cancelled by the authorities. The event, which has been in the planning stage for months and had 25 confirmed attendees, is being deemed “counterrevolutionary.” This is according to a recent conversation between officials from the Interior Ministry and one of the island's most well-known bloggers Yoaní Sánchez of Generación Y, who was one of the bloggers recently summoned to the local police station.
Egypt: Wael Abbas refuses to meet President Bush
Egyptian blogger and activist Wael Abbas just announced on his blog that he turned down an invitation to meet up with Bush. Marwa Rakha translates his post from Arabic.
World Disability Day in South Asia
December 1st is observed around the world as AIDS Day and the occasion is largely publicized. Unlike the attention World AIDS Day receives, World Disability Day barely registers on the world media’s radar. Celebrated every year on December 3rd, World Disability Day honors the contribution made to our world by those with physical and mental handicap.
French Guiana: The Unheard Blackout
For more than a week now, French Guiana has been in turmoil. The population is protesting against the skyrocketing price of gas by blocking roads, closing schools, and businesses. The cost of gas is currently €1,77 per liter (US$ 2,25), in contrast to the price of oil, which has been going as low as US$ 50,00 per barrel in the past weeks. The French Guianese blogosphere echoes this massive mobilization.
