Stories from Quick Reads from March, 2014
Brazilian Congress Approves Pioneering Bill of Rights for Internet Users
Marco Civil has finally been approved in the lower house of Brazil's Congress and next should be voted in Senate. The bill of rights for Internet users became a worldwide trending topic on Twitter, following a large-scale campaign that was promoted during the day of the vote, March 25, 2014, under the hashtags #MarcoCivil and #EuQueroMarcoCivil (I want...
Why Filipinos Became Early Adopters of Western Music
Le Minh Khai refers to the book of D. R. M. Irving in explaining the long history of Filipino musicians playing Western music: …there was a rich experience of musical contact and exchange between Spaniards and Filipinos that began not long after the Spaniards established their control over the Philippines...
Ukrainians Desperate to Flip the Script on Fascism
Photoshoped swastika is making the rounds on RuNet.
Trinidad & Tobago Loses First Olympic Medallist
Repeating Islands notes the passing of Trinidad and Tobago's first ever Olympic medallist, weightlifter Rodney Wilkes.
750 Million People Expected to Speak French by 2050
Countering the assertion by John McWhorter at the New republic that learning French is pointless, Pascal Emmanuel Gobry writes on his Forbes blog that French might just be the language of the future: French isn’t mostly spoken by French people, and hasn’t been for a long time now. The language is...
Laos Landmine Victims Appeal for Help
Landmines planted during the Vietnam War era continue to hurt and kill Lao residents today HI's Phongsavath Manithong is challenging the int'l community to support UXO/mine victims in #Laos #Commit2Complete pic.twitter.com/hXI659LRfu — ICBL (@minefreeworld) March 11, 2014
First Tweet from President of Madagascar is the Ultimate Meta Tweet
The newly elected president of Madagascar Hery Rajaonarimampianina created his twitter account on March 23, 2014. Here is his first tweet : It is quite possibly the most meta tweet ever from a head of state. Only media mugol Rupert Murdoch might challenge the level of “metaness” of his first...
Asylum Seekers Face Uncertainty in East Timor
Sharna Jade Bremner probes the situation of asylum seekers in East Timor: Asylum seekers have been arriving in Timor since the early 2000s, however the exact number that are still in the tiny half-island nation remains unclear. Fear and anxiety are rife in the asylum seeker community, and many people...
Brazil's Internet Bill of Rights Ignites Storm of Posts
Activists who support Brazil's bill of rights for Internet users, known as the #MarcoCivil, and who have Facebook or Twitter accounts are invited to participate in a large-scale campaign on social networks to pressure the National Congress to vote on the current version of the bill. An article by Julie Rovono on TechCrunch explains how...
Ukrainian Paramilitary Leader Assassinated, Moscow to Blame?
Over the past several hours rumors spread through the RuNet claiming that Alexander Muzychko, second-in-command to Ukraine's ultra-nationalist "Right Sector" leader Dmytro Yarosh, was gunned down near Rivno.
In Defence of Malawian Languages
Following Malawi's government decision to introduce English as a medium of instruction from grade one, Steve Sharra defends local languages and makes the case for multilingualism: Teachers and lecturers in our secondary schools and universities are observing a trend in which students from private schools speak perfect English, but their...
‘The Subject': A New Crowdfunding Tool for Brazil's Independent Media
Aimed at providing an alternative to the traditional business model of media production, a new crowdfunding platform for independent journalism has been launched in Brazil. O Sujeito (The Subject) [pt] is hosted by the crowdfunding website Catarse, which wrote about the new venture [pt] coming at a time of transition for media funding: O veículo impresso está...
The Perils Of The Dams Coming Up for Mumbai Region
South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) blog reports that as many as 12 dams are either being planned or are under construction to satisfy the increasing water demand of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) in India. The Tribals and other affected groups have long been strongly opposing...
Libya Vs Iraq: Who Wins in the Explosives Finale?
This bumper sticker (more of a windshield sticker) from Libya says it all. Egyptian Bassem Sabry explains: Humour as coping mechanism RT @ILPADRINO0 "Two more explosions & Libya will qualify for semi-final with Iraq" pic.twitter.com/uCzkihMi4u” — Bassem Sabry باسم (@Bassem_Sabry) March 24, 2014
Ebola Virus Outbreak Kills 59 in Guinea, Closes in on Conakry
An Ebola outbreak killed at least 59 people in Guinea and a few suspected cases near the Capital Conakry suggest that it may have spread to the Guinean capital. Barbara Krief provides the latest updates [fr]: Au moins huit agents de santé ont été tués à ce jour. En collaboration...
Returning Human Remains is Not an Apology, Says Namibia to Germany
Human remains who were killed during the colonial war (early 20th century) were returned to Namibia by Germany in March. However, Namibians still demand a formal apology from the German government as Tendai Marima, a post-doctoral researcher in African literature, wrote on the Think Africa Press website : The skulls and skeletons that...
Jamaica: Little Universes
Our minds are as vast and infinite and creative as the uni—scratch that—multiverse. What does that mean for each of us? For our potential and purpose? A science documentary reminds Jamaican blogger Nadine Tomlinson that she, like every other person on the planet, has unlimited potential.
Tor Users on the Rise in Turkey
Human rights and ethics advocate Frederic Jacobs notes that the number of people using Tor is on the rise in Turkey: Tor usage is peaking in Turkey. > 35 000 connecting. More expected for the next few days. pic.twitter.com/1c7AOflm7h — Frederic Jacobs (@FredericJacobs) March 23, 2014 Turkey has just banned Twitter.
A Telethon to Save Russia's Independent TV
Russia’s only independent television station, TV Rain, is on its last leg. Following what appears to have been an orchestrated campaign to rob the channel of its cable and satellite distributors, advertisers have run for the hills and the station is being evicted from its Moscow studio at Red October...
Trinidad & Tobago: Equal Justice?
The issue for me is equality before the law – and too often…average people come to understand that ‘when you’re big’ you are above the law or will be treated less harshly. Jumbie's Watch blogs about two recent incidents that leave him concerned about justice in Trinidad and Tobago.
Why the Caribbean Should be Interested in the Internet's Future
ICT Pulse explains why the Caribbean should become more involved in shaping the future stewardship of the Internet.
