Stories about North America from February, 2013
One Billion Rising: Progress for Women Worldwide, But Still Much to Do
On February 14, 2013, a worldwide event "One Billion Rising" was held, in which women were invited to gather and to dance, to demonstrate against gender violence. On this occasion, Barbara Auger raises a question still faced by women today: what role should they take ?
[Webcast] Internet Censorship and the Remembrance of Infowars Past
With Internet censorship on the rise around the world, organizations and researchers have developed and distributed a variety of tools to assist Internet users to both monitor and circumvent such censorship.
U.S. and South Korea: A Show of Force, But Running Out of Options?
North Korea’s third nuclear test provided the ideal opportunity for the United States and South Korea to respond with their own displays of military muscle. But what will be their next move?
How Would Africans Feel about A Black Pope ?
Following the surprise resignation, the debate on Benedict XVI's succession was immediately launched. In particular, Africans, on the basis of the fastest growing contingent of Catholics on their continent, began to put forward the names of their favourites among the 18 cardinal Africans who are part of the College of Cardinal and who will meet in conclave to elect the new pope.
[Webcast] Thoughts On The Fallout from Kony 2012
Ruha Devanesan explores how Invisible Children has responded to criticism of Kony 2012 and adapted its messaging and asks what lessons can be learned by the human rights advocacy community.
“Ask Angy” Humanizes the Experience of Undocumented Immigrants
Angy Rivera shares her immigration story with the world in hopes of humanizing this complex experience, particularly in the United States. Two years ago she publicly announced that "she did not fear being undocumented," and since then she writes a column entitled Ask Angy, in which she responds to questions, doubts, and comments.
Marco Rubio's Bitter Drink at the State of the Union Address
Marco Rubio, Republican senator from Florida, was the first senator to address the country in both English and Spanish following President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address. However, thirst played a trick on him, and his sip of water, live and in mid-speech, unleashed a wave of commentary on social media networks.
Does Pope Benedict XVI Read Science Fiction?
GV Author Filip Stojanovski, in a post on his Science Fiction Observer blog, highlights the work of Canadian science fiction writer Robert J. Sawyer, which is somewhat relevant for the...
North Korea's Nuclear Slap on the Chinese New Year
While the Chinese were celebrating their Lunar New Year, Pyongyang launched their third underground nuclear test just 100km away from their border with China. So far the Chinese government's response has been moderate. But online, both the pro-North Korea nationalists and the anti-North Korea liberals are not happy.
A Digital Farmer’s Almanac – How Communities Track ‘Microchanges’ in Climate
An experiment in crowd-sourced environmental reporting allows a Colorado community to document climate change in their backyards. Ngoc Nguyen interviews Julia Kumari Drapkin for New America Media.
Apply Today: Journalism Fellowship, Immigrant Women
Today (February 12) is the last day to apply for New America Media's fellowship for journalists writing about immigrant women in the United States. Ten fellowships are available, and bloggers...
Hong Kong's Parents Turn to Obama Over Baby Formula Shortage
Hong Kong residents, frustrated by a shortage of powdered baby formula caused by mainland Chinese smugglers making a run on the city's stocks, have launched a petition seeking help from the White House. So far, more than 22,000 have signed.
Open Access and the Complexity of Digital Rights
How do ways of thinking change through time and space? Today, this problem concerning the way the human intellect works is compounded by a new method of transmission - digital. Open Access are calling for free availabilty of digitised publications from publicly-funded scientific research.
U.S. President Barack Obama Supports Immigration Reform
U.S. President Barack Obama supported a bipartisan proposal developed by eight senators to overhaul immigration by strengthening border security, verifying the legal status of workers, and allowing university students to continue their university studies. Netizens react.
“Firsthand” Reporting on Huffington Post
Firsthand is a new distributed reporting project from The Huffington Post that calls on U.S. readers every month to submit text, photos and videos describing how an issue like immigration...
Taiwan: Who Misled Noam Chomsky?
Noam Chomsky's support for an anti-media monopoly campaign in Taiwan has recently been spun into a story of the intentional distortion of Chomsky's position by activists because the placard has a Chinese slogan that criticizes China's manipulation of Taiwanese media.
Bahamas, U.S.A.: Superbowl Hopes
For the American Football fans, Weblog Bahamas makes a prediction about today's Superbowl game.