Stories from Quick Reads from November, 2010
Uruguay: Video Podcast About E-Government in Uruguay
Uruguay: click para actualizar [click to refresh] interviewed [es] José Clastornik, Executive Director of AGESIC [es] (E-Government, Information Society and Knowledge Agency), about the “Electronic Government” in Uruguay.
Latin America: Summary of Several Leaked Documents on the Region
Erwin from The Latin Americanist summarizes some findings about U.S relations with Honduras, Venezuela, Argentina, Colombia, and Panama from the diplomatic documents recently released by Wikileaks.
El Salvador: New Law Targets Violence Against Women
“On Thursday, November 25, El Salvador's National Assembly unanimously passed the Law for A Life Free From Violence for Women. For the first time, the law creates a separate crime of femicide for the murder of a woman on account of her gender. The law also imposes stiffer penalties on...
Bolivia: Similarities Between El Alto and Rio de Janeiro
Carlos Gustavo Machicado [es] writes about the recent wave of violence in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, noting the similarities between Rio de Janeiro and El Alto in La Paz, Bolivia. He concludes that the best way to prevent violence in Bolivia is by fighting poverty.
Morocco: Danish journalist deported for Western Sahara fishing story
A Danish journalist who did a radio story on the European Union paying Morocco for fish from Western Sahara was deported from Morocco two days after arriving. His computer hard drive and SIM card were confiscated.
U.S.V.I.: Stalwart Passes On
News of St. John is saddened by the death of Ruth ‘Sis’ Frank, “a stalwart of the island's community.”
Bahamas: Power & Race
“There is a core lack of confidence in the ability—or is it the right?—of Bahamians to take control of our own destiny”: Blogworld considers the merit of a thesis “on Blackness & The Presumptions of Ultimate Power.”
Haiti: Election Results?
“So the big election day in Haiti happened. However, the whole process seemed horribly dysfunctional to me. How many voters were left out just due to logistics? And what about fraud and intimidation?”: Dying in Haiti is convinced that “the results of the election, whenever they will be determined, will...
Barbados: Independence Celebrations
Tomorrow will be Barbados’ 44th anniversary of Independence – My Barbados Blog reports.
Bermuda: Wikileaks Fallout
Vexed Bermoothes thinks that the fallout from the latest Wikileaks revelations “will be deep and broad”, adding: “Interestingly, 68 of the cables mention Bermuda…one can assume that at least some of these relate to Dr. Brown’s Uighur follies.”
Nigeria: Now a “Middle Income” Country
Solomonsydelle reports that Nigeria has joined Brazil, South Africa, and 100 other countries in a category the World Bank refers to as “Middle Income.” She expresses her gratification that the nation has left the label “low income” behind, but wonders, “does this classification really mean anything?”
Zimbabwe: Peaceful March to Mark International Women Human Rights Defenders Day
Approximately 900 members of Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise marked International Women Human Rights Defenders Day with a peaceful procession to the offices of the state-owned Chronicle newspaper in Bulawayo.
Africa: The Black Dutchmen of Indonesia
Do you know the Black Dutchmen of Indonesia?: “The Black Dutchmen are the desendents of 3,000 West African men who were sent by the Dutch colonialist to fight in their colonial war in Indonesia. Black men forced to the other side of the world to fight a white man’s war...
Africa: Glasses for Africa
afroklectic blogs about ‘Glasses for Africa” initiative: “Nyt Syn collected optical frames from more than 70, 000 people across Denmark. With 6 optometrists (opticians) and a nurse, they travelled to areas in Gambia and Senegal to perform eye tests and fit people with much needed glasses.”
Africa: The Africa They Never Show You
The Africa They Never show You is a Face Book group with over 210,000 members. It goes by this description – ”You’ve seen the images on tv about africa: the huts, the famine, disease, wars and suffering but they never show you that Africa is beautiful, has happy people and...
Ghana: Ghana's “Luck”: The Oil/Gas Co-Efficient
As Ghana is set production of oil next month, Ghanaian blogger Jemila is highly skeptical about its potential for growing Ghana's economy: “Until now, I've kept pretty mum about the issue, but given that the first production of oil is set to start next month – in a couple of...
Russia: Online Cartoon Against Corruption in Road Construction
Antimult studio published [RUS] an informative and entertaining cartoon on corruption in road construction in Russia. Together with usage of the old technologies, corruption causes 4 times higher price of roads than in Europe. Bad roads cost Russians 6-8 percent of GDP and 20 thousand deaths in car accidents every...
Russia: Phenomenal Growth of Facebook and Twitter in 2010
Facebook and Twitter audience in Russia grew 3-4 times since the beginning of the year, Vedomosti cites [RUS] comScore data. By the end of 2010, almost 6 mln of Russian netizens use Facebook, while 2,5 million use Twitter.
Russia: 25% of Registered Cyrillic Domains Suspended
Coordination Center for .rf (.рф) domain (ccTLD) has temporarily suspended [RUS] all domains registered by Ru-Center registrar following the scandals with the closed auctions for the most lucrative Cyrillic domains. So far Ru-Center had registered almost every fourth .rf domain. The domains will be suspended until sides will reach an...
Korea: S.Korean Island Hit by Artillery Shots Became ‘Off-limit’
A South Korean Twitterer posted a photo of an abandoned white dog sitting on a pile of rubble of the Yeonpyeong island, a South Korean island hit last week by a North Korean artillery attack. The almost deserted island was designated as a military “control zone” today.
Brazil: Cartoons of slum violence
Conceição Oliveira, at her blog Maria Frô, posts [pt] a series of cartoons by renowned Brazilian political cartoonist Carlos Latuff, which depict the recent outbreak of violence in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro.
