25 January 2010

Stories from 25 January 2010

Chile: Modern Day Human Rights for the Mapuche

  25 January 2010

The Museum of Memory in Chile documents human rights abuses during the Pinochet dictatorship. During its inauguration, 2 Mapuche women interrupted President Bachelet's speech, reminding the country that there are still present-day concerns for human rights in their indigenous community.

Iran: Iranians commemorate Neda's birthday

  25 January 2010

Iranians inside and outside the country remembered Neda Soltan's birthday. Neda was shot dead by Basij militia on June 20, 2009, during a protest against the presidential election results that declared Mahmoud Ahmadinejad president. Her death was captured on video and uploaded to the Internet. She died with her eyes wide open, and her last moments transcended citizen media to mainstream media, reaching millions of people.

Jamaica, Haiti: Using the Language

  25 January 2010

Jamaica's Active Voice says: “Trust the Brits to do the right thing. While our newswomen and men are contorting their mouths reproducing peculiar versions of the Queen's English, British broadcasters are broadcasting to Haitians in their mother tongue–Kreyol.”

Haiti: Media Responsibility

  25 January 2010

Repeating Islands posts an excerpt from Rebecca Solnit, who, “disturbed by media coverage of alleged looting in Port-au-Prince following the earthquake, posted a powerful article decrying the criminalization of victims by the media.”

Haiti: Lessons Learned

  25 January 2010

Carol and Tom in Haiti post a list of lessons learned in the aftermath of the earthquake, while Trinidadian blogger Tattoo writes about the dos and don'ts of disaster aid.

Bahamas, Haiti: Solidarity

  25 January 2010

A new website is launched by “a group of Bahamian webizens who hope to mobilize in support of a realistic and sensible immigration policy with respect to Haitians and their children.”

Haiti: Media Operations Center launched for Haitian journalism

  25 January 2010

Réseau Citadelle announces the launch of the Media Operations Center, an initiative from Reporters without Borders and Quebecor, aimed at facilitating the field work of local and foreign journalists in Haiti as well as establishing collaboration between the media and NGOs.

Haiti: Signs of a “normal life” in Port-au-Prince

  25 January 2010

Radio Métropole Haiti provides a list [Fr] of activities belonging to a “normal life” resuming in Port-au-Prince, around banks, gas stations, supermarkets and fruit and vegetable markets – the revival of business in Haiti's capital highlights the gap between the haves and the have-nots.

Japan: Grand Sumo Tournament

  25 January 2010

Godo Chillida published a photo reportage on the final day of the Tokyo Grand Sumo Tournament. The photographer captured intense pictures of the wrestlers and the decisive match.

Kenya: Abdullah al-Faisal stirs confrontation

  25 January 2010

As on Thursday 21st Jan, the government of Kenya was at its nerves end trying to raise over US$,400,000 in a bid to deport Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal to his home country, Jamaica using a hired plane. This was one of the many failed attempts to get al-Faisal out of the country due to his terrorist nature which was deemed a risk to the East African Country, Kenya.

Ghana: Regional Minister, Kofi Opoku-Manu, Going Under?

  25 January 2010

Ashanti Regional Minister, Kofi Opoku-Manu, has recently taken great heat for remarks he made during a speech to supporters of the ruling party, National Democratic Congress (NDC) on January 6th. According to Ghana’s Ato-Kwamena Dadzie, Opoku-Manu “urged party supporters to resort to violence to resolve their differences.”

China: War of Internet Addiction

  25 January 2010

DigiCha introduces an online video called “War of Internet Addiction” which a satire on the government’s attempt to “harmonize” China’s Internet with forced installations of “Green Dam Youth Escort” and the travails of Chinese World of Warcraft players over the last several months.

China: No more dirty joke via SMS

  25 January 2010

According to last week's Xinhuanet report, Mobile China Shanghai branch will start suspending a mobile phone's SMS function if they find the number distribute “vulgar”, “pornographic” and other illegal contents(Details see GVA). Other cities and mobile companies also carry out similar practices since the beginning of 2010. The new policy...

Timor Police Brutality Video

  25 January 2010

Police brutality in Timor-Leste is not new, but getting it on video is. This is something of a “Rodney King” moment for Timor-Leste and its police service.