Stories from 21 May 2009
Philippines: Storytelling for Hunger Awareness
A few years ago, a short film won the public's approval at the 56th Berlin International Film Festival, and to this day, it is still making its rounds through internet, raising awareness on poverty and hunger. Chicken Ala Carte by Ferdinand Dimadura is one of the videos we bring you today about hunger past, present and future.
India: Communication Via Word Of Mouth
A Year In India realizes that word of mouth is a strong mean of communication in India because: “this may have to do with illiteracy, a lack of technology and infrastructure, and a large percentage of the population living in isolated, rural settings.”
Sri Lanka: What Are We Celebrating?
Chatu at Groundviews asks some questions: “what are we celebrating? Defeating an entity we forced into existence? Are the reasons that forced a young Prabhakaran to assassinate the Mayor of Jaffna resolved? Is Sri Lanka truly united towards peace and coexistence?”
Pakistan: Relief Effort For IDPs In Karachi
Deadpan Thoughts writes about the relief efforts for Swat IDPs being carried out in Karachi. Pictures of relief collection are also posted in that article.
Colombia: Two Years of Hiperbarrio
After two years since Hiperbarrio was founded in Medellín, Colombia, Catalina Restrepo of Cosas del Alma [es] looks back on the activities of the citizen media project.
Uruguay: Photos of the Funeral of Mario Benedetti
Mario Blanco took photos of the funeral of Uruguayan writer, Mario Benedetti [es], who recently passed away.
India: Bowing Down Before Your Wife
Sumanth at Desicritics reports of a verdict of the Indian Supreme Court on a divorce case, which asked the plaintiff to “bow down before his wife's ‘diktat'”. The post containing Sumanth's reaction to the verdict sparks a heated debate in the comments section.
Pakistan: A Humanitarian Crisis
Pakistan has been hit by a severe humanitarian crisis as a result of the military onslaught against the Taliban insurgency in the Swat Valley. Over one million people have fled their homes from various areas in the Malakand division and FATA including Buner, Dir and Swat. A massive relief effort has been launched by many organizations and individuals and the Pakistani Blogosphere is also taking a leading role to seek help for the IDPs.
Palestine: Family Fun?
In the West Bank, Samuel Nichols notes: “Parents taking a Friday afternoon walk carrying their newborn is cute. Parents taking a Friday afternoon walk carrying their newborn (with an M-16 slung over the father's shoulder while intimidating Palestinian farmers) is disconcerting and scary.”
Qatar: Kingdom, Sultanate, Emirate?
Marjorie in Qatar asks, “Is there any real difference between a kingdom, a sultanate, and an emirate?”
USA: Blogger talks immigration with Joe Biden
A blogger from Underground Undergrads who campaigns for citizenship rights for undocumented students in the United States describes a meeting with vice president Joe Biden.
Jamaica: Discussing Human Rights
“Traditionally, the discussion of human rights in Jamaica has been conducted in what may be considered ‘the privileged voice'”: Raw Politics…Jamaica Style! questions the value of this norm.
Trinidad & Tobago: Internet Killed the TV Star?
“The one media outlet that best serves the fat, the dumb, the happy, is one that is in for a wild roller coaster ride as people around the world tune out so that they can tune in on the Internet”: Blogging from Trinidad and Tobago, KnowProSE.com thinks that television has...
Bermuda, Cayman Islands: Referendum
Bermudian bloggers Vexed Bermoothes and Catch a fire are paying attention to the Cayman Islands’ recently-concluded elections and citizens’ participation in a referendum vote on the country's new constitution.
Jamaica: The Ananda Alert
Jamaica's Yardflex.com finally sees “a glimmer of light on the horizon when it comes to the protection of our children.”
Aruba: Election Season
As Aruba gears up for this year's national elections, Arubagirl says: “I don't mind campaigns. What I do mind is that pronunciations made by politicians who are clearly campaigning are presented as ‘fact’.”
Iran: In presidential race, ex-revolutionary guard leader uses internet least
Former leader of the Revolutionary Guard in Iran, Mohsen Rezai, was among the lucky four candidates selected by the Council of Guardians to run in the presidential elections on June 12. Rezai's digital campaign is lightweight compared to that of his three rivals, but he has listed the names of bloggers who support him on his campaign website.
Iran: State-run Press TV in London
Spider, an Iranian blogger, has published a photo of one of Iranian State-run Press TV‘s advertisement in a metro in London. In this publicity we read Press TV wants to ‘give a voice to voiceless’. The blogger has published several links to show that how ironically Iranian government who wants...
Iran: An award for a blogger
Potkin Azarmehr,was awarded the Cutting Edge Breakaway Prize for New Talent at the Next Century Foundation’s annual International Media Awards on 11th of May.
Taiwan: LiveCast and music for saving rural livelihood
Citizen journalists, activists and artists use different forms of media - LiveCast, written reports and musics- to save rural livelihood and Taiwan's agriculture from destructive government rural policies.
Fiji: EU cancels 2009 sugar subsidy
The European Union announced that it was suspending 2009 payment of 24 million Euro in subsidies to help prop up Fiji’s sugar industry. European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, admitted Fiji would have received the payment if it would have had a “legitimate government” in place. He...
