Stories about North America from December, 2011
Meet Raafat Rohaiem from Global Voices in Arabic
Shams Ahmed interviews Raafat Rohaiem, one of teh first Global Voices in Arabic translators, who joined the team in 2007.
Video Highlights: Protests, Elections, Culture and GV
A selection of Global Voices' recent and interesting stories including video from Middle East and North Africa, Sub Saharan Africa, Eastern and Central Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America, selected by Juliana Rincón Parra.
Global Voices: Donate Today
2011 has been an extraordinary year for online content. Global Voices has been there as revolutions happened, dictatorships fell, and network effects rippled through the cities and neighborhoods of our contributors reporting from around the world.
Mexico, USA: Border Cities Juárez and El Paso Growing Apart
The blog Just the Facts reports on what three WOLA (Washington Office on Latin America) staff members saw in the El Paso-Juárez border zone: “We found two cities that, while separated only by a narrow river, are rapidly growing further apart.”
United Kingdom: Video from Hitchens’ 1999 U.S. Book Tour
“Hitch Hike” is a 53-min documentary by Palash Davé about British writer Christopher Hitchens’ 1999 U.S. tour promoting his book about Bill Clinton. The full film is available for viewing on Vimeo (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). Hitchens died on December 15, 2011.
USA: Has NASA Discovered a Life-Friendly Planet?
NASA has announced the Kepler Space Telescope discovery of Kepler-22b, a planet within the right distance of its star for potentially having a habitable temperature. Science bloggers have reacted to the news with analysis and theories of their own.
Iran:Tehran won propaganda war against USA
Ahestan writes [fa] displaying U.S. drone by Iranian forces, is a proof that Islamic Republic has won propaganda, political and media war against American government.
China, U.S.A: Housing Prices
Dan from China Law Blog compares the housing prices among cities in China and U.S.A.
Arab World to Gingrich: “If Palestinians Are Invented People, Americans Are …”
Palestinians are “invented” people, who want to destroy Israel, says US Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich. His comments, in an interview with a Jewish television channel, have drawn the anger and ridicule of netizens across the Arab world.
Confusing information for NGOs at COP 17 in Durban
Addressing the 17th Conference of Parties (COP17) in Durban on climate change, René Audet complained on the website blogueaqlpa.com: “Since the arrival of Ministers in Durban, negotiations have been taken to another level, so to speak. Now, this level is inaccessible to observers like us. Information circulates well within NGO networks, but they are confusing.”
Iran:Tehran displays captured US drone
Several bloggers such as Az Mian Negarha, linked to a YouTube film where Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps displayed a US captured RQ-170 Sentinel plane on TV on Thursday afternoon.
Iran: ‘Ready to hack US virtual embassy’
Haji Digital, a pro-government online user in Iran, says in Friendfeed [Fa]: “We are ready to take over the US virtual embassy in Iran and completely hack it”.
Iran: US virtual embassy blocked
Nima Akbarpour, Iranian blogger and IT journalist, says [Fa] that Iranian authorities have blocked US virtual embassy website, hours after its launch. He says that was predictable.
USA: Uncertain Future of Student Occupy Movement in California
The pepper spraying incident against a group of peacefully protesting students, which occurred on November 18th on the Davis campus of the University of California, has called the attention of the media and fueled the discussion on police misconduct. The student occupation continues, but the future of the movement is unknown.
Iran: US Virtual Embassy for Tehran
Faryad Azadi reported[fa] that USA has launched a virtual embassy for Tehran.
South Korea: Anger Over Free Trade Agreement and Media Silence
Rallies have been held daily in the South Korean capital of Seoul for two weeks now, protesting against the country's free trade agreement with the United States. Citizens have expressed deep discontent, as well as strong distrust of the mainstream media who rarely report on anti-FTA protests.
Ashura Commemorations Around the World
Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, is a period of mourning for Shia Muslims. Events reach a climax on Ashura, the tenth day of the month. Ayesha Saldanha reports on Ashura commemorations around the world.
Canada: The Start of the SlutWalk Movement
Global Voices' author, Maria Grabowski, interviews Heather Jarvis, the co-founder of the first SlutWalk initiative based in Toronto. They talk about the background of the movement and its quick spread to the rest of the world.
China, USA: Comparing Poverty Lines
China has decided to raise its poverty line to RMB 2,300 yuan (approximately USD 360) per capita income, but does the new poverty line reflect the reality of China's poor? And how does it compare to that of the United States?
