Stories from 5 December 2009
Ecuador: First results form Google Zeitgest
Christian from Cobertura digital comments on Ecuador's most frequent Google searches in 2009 [es] as service Zeitgeist opens results for the country for the first time.
Chile: A Proper Funeral for Víctor Jara
On December 3 Chilean community celebrated a proper funeral for singer songwriter Víctor Jara, who was murdered 36 years ago during the military coup of Pinochet and has been an unparalleled influence on artists and musicians around the world.
Jordan: Amman's Dating Scene
For a preview on the dating scene in Amman, Jordan, check out House of Curiosity.
Iran: Fariba Pajooh, a blogger in prison
Fariba Pajooh, an Iranian blogger and journalist, has been in prison for more than 100 days. According to [fa] Ghomar Asheghaneh, an Iran based blogger, her parents do not know what to do and her father is in a bad physical condition.[Update: She was released on 23th of Decmeber 2009].
Iran: International Solidarity Builds Momentum
Hadi Ghaemi, a leading human rights activist, writes in Huffingtonpost: “Much of the international public and media consider mass protests in Iran to have ended, because images of hundreds of thousands of demonstrators no longer appear on TV screens… But the protest movement is alive and continues to challenge the...
Japan: A History of Modern Japanese Literary Criticism
Ryan Morrison of Neojaponisme gives an overview [en] of the history of modern Japanese literary criticism.
Russia: Online Forum Beats Media in Covering Night Club Fire
Fire at the night club "Lame Horse" in a central Russian city Perm killed more than 100 people. Local online forum Teron.ru quickly became the main source of information about the tragedy for ordinary citizens and mainstream media.
Cameroon: Video Shows Harsh Conditions of Rural Medicine
As in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, doctors in Cameroon work without adequate training or equipment--a fact that in itself is not surprising, but is made disturbingly real by four young Americans who shot this amateur video of surgery in a rural hospital in Cameroon. Posted on 20mai.net, a Camerounian citizen media site, the video provoked a heated discussion.
