Stories about Weblog from September, 2021
COVID Couture: Trinidadian creative Sonja Dumas responds to the pandemic with a feel-good dress that has a deeper meaning
"I made [the dress] to cheer up myself at a depressing and challenging moment of our human history."
Can LGBTQ+ rights activism be the key to reversing retrogressive policies in the Middle East?
"From Egypt to Turkey to Iran, governments are pushing back against LGBTQ+ inclusion, even resorting to social media and mobile phones to track and target the community."
Jamaica’s rivers and gullies are suffering from abuse
World Rivers Day may not instantly solve all the problems Jamaica's rivers currently face, but it may inspire citizens to be better custodians.
Is China exporting its surveillance state to Venezuela?
One of the largest Chinese defense companies has been pointed out for providing the Venezuelan government software to block access to the Internet and to spy on its detractors.
South Asia mourns Indian feminist icon Kamla Bhasin
Kamla Bhasin, a pioneer of the women’s rights movement in South Asia, died on September 25, 2021 in New Delhi, India. Activists remembered her on social media and mourned her death.
In Turkey, a citizen sentenced to prison for insulting the president
Since getting elected as president in 2014, some "100,000 people have been accused of defaming the president," based on Article 299 of the Penal Code in Turkey.
Turkish students protest as rent prices skyrocket
In an effort to solve this crisis, a group of students launched the Movement of the Unsheltered, demanding lower housing and rent prices.
A veteran Hong Kong Wikipedia editor: “Wikipedia's policies are vulnerable to authoritarian abuse”
'Lock up netizens who are skeptical of the Chinese establishment, let the regime's loyal cheerleaders pass through the net... and voila you have an army of self-motivated propagandists'.
Three Melbourne teenagers inspire public with their COVID-19 data tracking website
"[We] had our first dose of vaccine. Thought this would be a good time to share who we really are. Thrilled that we will finally be included in our data!"
Quirky Japanese promo campaign launches new brand of rice, just in time for harvest season
The official Japan-wide launch of a new rice brand includes a quirky musical commercial, a social media photo contest, and feelings of anticipation for "new rice."
Reviving the Cree and Ojibwe languages of Manitoba with TikTok
Sharissa Neault and Noah Malazdrewicz make fun videos in their languages to help Indigenous youth who think their culture and language are lost to reconnect with them.
Syrian migrants fall victims to “human trafficking mafia” in Libyan prisons
'The EU is responsible for Libya’s barbarism directly, or by turning a blind eye to its actions, as armed groups profiting from migrants are funded, and complicity in these crimes go unpunished.'
In Turkey, environmentalists struggle to preserve the city's remaining green spaces
Since 2014 the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been fighting to open the grove to development projects, much to the ire of community environmentalists.
Life during the pandemic: An interview with former refugee, exiled cartoonist Eaten Fish
"I would like to tell other fellow artists that they should never stop trying, they should never stop searching and they should never be afraid of sharing their opinion."
Shooting in Kazakhstan leaves five dead after financial dispute over real estate
A court ordered the eviction of a Kazakhstan family that had defaulted on its bank loan. The head of the household opened fire against the authorities enforcing the eviction.
Behind Chinese Wikipedia user ban: threats, verbal attacks and election canvassing
The Foundation explained that the radical steps were taken as "some users have been physically harmed" as a result of the 'exposure of personal information to users in mainland China.'
Germinda Casupá, a Chiquitania native fighting fire and machismo
In the face of the environmental and humanitarian catastrophe, indigenous women like Germinda Casupá take on the defense of their territory.
Dissenting artist Ai Weiwei on Hong Kong: art would not be art if it cannot be done in the face of tyranny
'Art would not be art if it cannot be done in the face of tyranny… the artworks which fight for freedom are precious efforts of the human spirit.'
India’s gasoline dilemma: Double burden of rising prices and soaring demand
As petrol and diesel prices skyrocket, so does demand, almost certainly leading to inflation, and thus adding a greater financial burden to people already hit by unemployment and the pandemic.
Retelling indigenous Tamang people’s torment and trauma through sacred seeds, handmade paper and slates
Nepali artist Subas Tamang uses the seeds of the Damocles tree, handmade paper from the bark of paper plants, and slates to tell the stories of the indigenous Tamang people.
France blasts Australia's nuclear-powered submarine deal with US and UK as ‘duplicity’
'I wanted to underline the level of anger that exists here in France at the moment. Your government is an embarrassment, ...the damage regarding the Australian image here is huge'.
