Stories from Quick Reads from December, 2010
Maldives: Protesting The Increase Of Privileges Of MPs
The blog of 919, a nonviolent and peaceful democracy movement in the Maldives, calls to join the protests against the bill passed recently by the Maldives parliament to increase the benefits and allowances of the members of parliament.
Sri Lanka: National Anthem In Tamil To Be Scrapped
D.B.S. Jeyaraj informs that “a campaign is being conducted by majoritarian hawks to do away with the practice of singing the (Sri Lankan) national anthem in Tamil”.
Puerto Rico: Videos for a Cause
The digital magazine 80 Grados [es] posted another video of their series “UPR, a common cause” [es] which aims to present different voices of the University of Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico: Dialogue with Students on Strike
Student activist Arturo Ríos Escribano used social media networks to inform the public about the dialogue [es] between student leaders of the University of Puerto Rico, governor Luis Fortuño and the state secretary Kenneth McClintock. As a result of the meeting, the Governor decided to remove a special unit of...
Barbados: top stories for 2010
What were the top Barbados news stories in 2010? Barbados Free Press shares their list, and asks readers to vote.
Kenya: 10 Best Kenyan Sites in 2010
Interesting Kenyan sites in 2010: “A while back, we started a small experiment where we’d write about cool Kenyan sites that we had come across. Here are the 10 best sites that we covered in the year that was 2010″
Ghana: Takoradi, More Than a Tale of Two Cities
There are two incontrovertible truths about Takoradi city in Ghana: “it made news in the oil world on 15 December, 2010 when Ghana officially became an oil-exporting country; secondly, the capital of the verdant and lush Western region is a twin city alongside Sekondi…”
Uruguay: Discovering Uruguay Through Writer Yaravi Roig
Florence Faure writes: “Reading fiction can be an interesting way to get introduced to or know better a country. Yaravi Roig is an Uruguayan writer who lives in Piriapolis. In her books, she gives to the reader the opportunity to discover Uruguayan culture, more specifically Piriapolis and the people who...
North Korea's State-run TV Broadcasted its First Western-made Film
North Korea's state-run television broadcasted its first Western-made film, a heavily edited “Bend It Like Beckham”. The British soccer film contains North Korea's taboo topics, like interracial relationships, homosexuality and religion. British Embassy in Seoul tweeted it is ‘the first western live-action film ever aired in North Korea, arranged by...
Bolivia: Photos and Video of Protest Over Rise in Cost of Fuel
Angel Caido [es] shares photos and a video of the protests that took place on December 30 in Bolivia over the rise in the cost of fuel.
Mexico: 60 Students Died in Ciudad Juárez in 2010
Patrick Corcoran reports: “Authorities say that some 60 students died in 2010 in Ciudad Juárez as a result of gang violence, most famously in the massacres in January and October.” He says he expected the number to be higher, considering there were more than 3,100 murders in Ciudad Juárez this...
New Year's Resolution: Learn About Latin American Culture
Colombian/Argentinean Travelojos contributor Jennifer Lubrani writes about her New Year's resolution: “I’ve made it a goal to try to learn as much as I can about all of the other Latin American cultures.” She suggests five ways to “get cultured” on Latin America.
Japan: Top popular Japanese phrases of 2010
Pinktentacle reported and translated into English the “Top 60 popular Japanese words/phrases of 2010″, published on the website of Jiyu Kokuminsha.
Azerbaijan: Emin Milli's Reading list
In a note posted on Facebook, imprisoned and recently freed video blogging youth activist Emin Milli lists the books he read while in jail in Azerbaijan. Not surprisingly, the books mostly deal with a common theme — freedom and democracy.
Tunisia: Journalist Nebrass Hedhili Attacked during Uprising
Nawaat writes that journalist Nebrass Hedhili was physically abused by policemen not in uniform in the La Chebba center (fr). Nawaat also regularly updates a press review of the ongoing Sidi Bouzid uprising(fr).
Caucasus: Online tools in Peace Building
Writing on his Peace and Collaborative Development Network Blog, Global Voices’ Caucasus Editor recounts his experience of using online social networks in cross-border communication and peace building initiatives between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Locked into a still unresolved conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, another post, however, looks at...
Guatemala: Harsh Winter Affecting Farmers
Locavore del Mundo writes about how this year's particularly cold winter has affected farmers in Guatemala: “Farmers have lost almost all of their crops due to this frost. The lost harvest includes cabbage, cauliflower, chinese peas, carrots, lettuce, radishes, among other vegetables.”
Mexican Film in 2010: The Good, The Bad, and The Realistic
Perla Cristal Gómez from Vivir México critiques [es] Mexican films released in 2010, picking one that was good (“Hidalgo“), one that was bad (“2033“) and one that was realistic (“El Infierno“).
Ukraine: Former Interior Minister's Case
Foreign Notes and Ukrainiana write about the case against the former Interior Minister of Ukraine Yuri Lutsenko.
Belarus: More Commentary on Dec. 19
Commentary on the implications of the post-election events in Belarus – at OpenDemocracy.net, here and here.
Hungary: “Viktor #Censorbán”
Kosmopolito writes about Hungary's new media law and suggests ways to draw attention to the situation; “transforming” PM Viktor Orbán into Viktor #Censorbán is just one of the strategies – and there's already a Censorban account on Twitter, as well as a hashtag. More relevant info and reactions – at...
