Stories about Weblog from September, 2010
Israel: Are Peace Activists Harassed by Palestinian Men Being Silenced?
Israeli human rights activists, who regularly join Palestinian demonstrators in Bil'iin and Sheikh Jarrah, are recently blamed for ignoring and even silencing an allegedly common phenomenon of sexual harassment of women activists by fellow Palestinian demonstrators.
Bhutan: ‘Happiness’ As A Millennium Development Goal
It was nice to have a little laughter - even whimsical as it may have been - when the PM of Bhutan proposed “Happiness” be included as the 9th Millennium Development Goal at the the United Nations Summit on the Millennium Development Goals.
The Invisible Border Between Ecuador and Colombia
The Colombia-Ecuador border is once again a contentious issue. Both countries have a border of 586 km and with it a long history of conflict, mutual accusations and reports of armed conflict and displacement.
Armenia: Army forced to act after hazing video circulates online
A video depicting what appears to be evidence of bullying in the military stationed in Nagorno Karabakh, a disputed territory situated within Azerbaijan mainly populated by ethnic Armenians, continues to circulate online, from YouTube to the Daily Motion website.
Humorous Web Reactions to Thursday's Facebook Outage
Facebook is the world’s largest social network, with over 500 million users. The website was offline for a few hours on September 23, 2010. Several jokes about the Facebook outage were soon streaming on Twitter, with many of them being re-tweeted by hundreds.
Anti-censorship webmaster arrested in Thailand
The webmaster of an independent online journal in Thailand was arrested at Bangkok airport today on charges of insulting the monarchy. Local mainstream media has been quiet about the issue but twitterers are providing information and other updates which help sustain the campaign to demand the freedom of the arrested activist
Colombia: First Reactions to the Death of FARC Leader ‘Mono Jojoy’
Víctor Julio Suárez, better known as Jorge Briceño or Mono Jojoy, one of the top leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), was killed in the so-called "Operation Sodom." Colombian Twitter users immediately reacted to the news.
Italy: Social Media Week in Milan and Worldwide
Social Media Week is an eclectic, multi-city event (Sept 20-24) aimed at connecting people, content, and conversations about emerging trends in social and mobile media.
East Timor: The Past is Present
For many East Timorese families that have lived through the violent Indonesian occupation, the past is still present. The poignant words of Fidelis Magalhães - the son of a slain pro-independence fighter - mark the eleventh anniversary of the UN run Popular Consultation which resulted in the independence of the country.
Global Voices Bloggers at UN Millennium Development Goals Summit
Four Global Voices bloggers are currently attending the United Nations Summit on the Millennium Development Goals in New York City (September 20-22). In their personal blogs and on Twitter, they are sharing their initial reactions from the Summit.
Australia: MDG Summit Lying Low Down Under
The Australian mainstream media seem distracted from this week’s UN Millennium Development Goals Summit. But thankfully, the Oz blogosphere has plenty of MDG traffic, though most of it is confined to NGOs and church groups
Panama: Proposed Legislation to Prevent Discrimination due to Sexual Orientation
The Panamanian National Assembly started to discuss a new law that would protect people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The proposal has caused controversy within Panamanian society and the subject has been approached by bloggers before and after this proposal was presented.
Venezuela: Web Videos Encouraging Citizens to Vote
Venezuelans will be voting on September 26th to renew the whole body of the National Assembly, the unicameral legislative body which substituted the Congress, and online, dozens of people are making and remixing videos urging citizens to vote.
China: Rights to strike
The past year has seen a growing number of Chinese laborers fighting for their rights in incidents from across the country; a recent move by Chinese workers to go on strike in Russia has raised questions on both sides of the border.
Serbia: Minister Takes e-Government from Virtual to Real
The Serbian online community has been a-flutter this evening after what seems to have been a small, laid-back, yet groundbreaking event earlier today in Belgrade: a meeting with Jasna Matic, the Serbian Minister of Telecommunications and Information Society, organized mostly through Twitter and Facebook.
Mozambique: “Bread Riots” Reflections
Globally and in Maputo, bloggers reflected on the unrest in Maputo and the government's response, addressing the economic, political and social aspects of events. Critiques of "civil society", globalization and Mozambique's economic model were numerous.
Afghanistan: Election 2010 Started
Despite all the security threats and anxiety, hundreds of Afghans lined up in every polling station all over the country to cast their ballots in Afghanistan's Wolesi Jirga Election 2010, which started September 18.
Cambodia: Controversial mobile phone ad
An advertisement of a major Cambodian mobile phone service provider is being criticized by many netizens for promoting bad internet behavior among the youth. Bloggers are pushing for the removal of the ad.
China: Yihuang Self-Immolation Incident and the Power of Microblogging
Chinese online public opinion has once again changed the course of an event, this time regarding a forced demolition and consequent self-immolation protest in Yihuang county, Jiangxi. On September 10,...
Colombia: Virtual Gifts for Medellín on its 335 Birthday
On November 2 the city of Medellín will celebrate 335 years of its founding. The account @cumplemedellin was created on Twitter so that its citizens can tweet the symbolic present they want to give their city on this occasion. What would you give your city on its "birthday"? Find out what citizens of Medellín are tweeting almost a month before the date.
India: Wither Kashmir? Or Is Reconciliation Possible?
The Indian central government has sent a fact-finding delegation including lawmakers from all major political parties to mitigate the bloodshed and tensions in the Jammu and Kashmir region. The Indian blogosphere has finally woken up on this issue and bloggers are sharing messages of hope, reconciliation, integrity and peace.