Stories from 8 September 2010
Getting to Know the Global Voices Latin America Team
The Global Voices Latin America team of volunteer authors has grown over the past three years. During this transition and the presentation of a new Regional Editor, Silvia Viñas, let's take a look at the diverse community of committed bloggers from this region.
Japan, Brazil: Dirty Hearts, a movie on first-generation Japanese-Brazilians after WW2
Jamaipanese reports [en] that next year will be released in Brazil the new film by Brazilian filmmaker Vicente Amorim titled Coracoes Sujos (Dirty Hearts). The movie is about an underreported conflict that divided the Japanese immigrants in Brazil [en] following Japan’s World War II defeat. The trailer of the movie...
Sri Lanka: A Day To Remember
Vositha comments that today (September 8, 2010) is a day to remember for the Sri Lankans as it is “the end of Sri Lanka as we know it and a new beginning”. Learn why.
First Pakistani Tennis player to qualify for the Finals of US Open
Pakistan has something to cheer about after a long spell of tragedies. Hina Safdar at Chowrangi reports that Aisam ul Haq Qureshi has become the first Pakistani ever to qualify for the Finals of US Open tennis tournament.
Nepal: Gokarna Aunsi – The Fathers’ Day
Nepal has its version of fathers’ day which is called Gokarna Aunsi. Pradeep Kumar Singh explains the tradition and the mythology behind this day.
China: Afterthoughts following the New Zealand earthquake
News of the lack of direct casualties and minimal damage done in New Zealand's earthquake this past week has provoked widespread discussion over how far China has come since the devastating earthquake in Sichuan province more than two years ago.
Kenya: Koroga Enchants
Koroga is an Africa story involving poets and photogpraphers: “At the heart of Koroga is a deep desire to understand how art shapes our social imaginations. Poets have responded to a range of images that capture the density and play of contemporary living, the beauties and tragedies that surround us.”
Africa: African Merchants in Ancient China
Eccentric Yoruba discusses African merchants in ancient China: “In my previous post I mentioned that I had read somewhere that two slaves given as gifts to the a Chinese Emperor by an Arab delegation were the first Africans to enter ancient China.”
South Africa: South Africa's Strike Season
Prisha blogs about South Africa's public sector strike: “It is a well known fact that South Africa has a strike season. That’s right, you heard me: a strike “season” -just as we have winter, spring, summer and autumn – so too, do we have the public sector strike! The last...
Malawi: Literacy beyond reading and writing
Steve Sharra's analysis of literacy in the context of Malawi”: “Obviously a basic meaning of “literacy” starts out as learning how to read and write, and in Malawian discourse, the type of literacy most commonly heard on the street and across the airwaves is “Adult Literacy”…”
Zimbabwe: What makes a Zimbabwean hero?
What makes a hero in Zimbabwe?: “In Zimbabwe, it would seem that the definition of heroism is controlled by Zanu PF alone. Hero designation has always been in the hands of the ZANU-PF Politburo, though non-Zanu PF parties have recently demanded that the designation process be made more inclusive to...
Chile: Bands and Soloists on Twitter
Roberto Carreño has listed the Twitter accounts of several Chilean bands and soloists.
Guatemala: 100 Good Things Before September 15
Guate Cambia [es] is coming up with 100 good things about Guatemala before September 15; users can send their suggestions to admin@guatecambia.com.
Paraguay: Media Ignores Execution of Three Indians
Enrique Ramón Galeano writes [es] about the execution of three Indians, an event that he says the media and NGOs have ignored.
St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Barbados: “Sense of the Sensless”
Abeni is saddened by the death of Vincentian Kellisha Ollivierre, one of the victims of the robbery/fire in Barbados: “My hope is that their deaths will drive home the need for strict adherence to building codes. This laissez-faire attitude with respect to people's lives has to end.”
Brazil: A guide to tech for transparency projects in the 2010 elections
Brazil is awash in online technology for transparency and accountability projects in the run-up to its October 2010 presidential elections. Manuella Ribeiro gives us a tour through some of the best.
Haiti: MINUSTAH & Violence
The Haitian Blogger discusses the recent death of a young man, allegedly at the hand of UN troops, saying: “It is because of the continuous abuses by MINUSTAH and violent incidents like the one in Cap-Haitien on August 17 that Haitians are demanding an end to the UN occupation of...
Trinidad & Tobago: Budget Day
Today is Budget Day and Plain Talk has a few bits of advice for the new Finance Minister: “There has been a change in Parties at the helm of Governance, and if that change is to have any meaning…the real Leaders…need to espouse a vision [that] is very clear in...
Colombia: Hiperbarrio Bloggers on Violence in Medellín
Violence, murder, theft and crime are a constant in Medellín and its metropolitan area; issues all people must learn to live with and a social phenomenon that has grown in the last year. Bloggers from Rising Voices project Hiperbarrio expressed their feelings and different viewpoints on the matter in personal and group blogs.
Brazil: “Do It Yourself” Clean Elections
In less than one month there will be elections in Brazil and Eleitor 2010 has already became a game-changer: it is a "crowdsourcing" project aiming to facilitate citizen reports of abuses of the electoral process. Through the platform, some entertaining anecdotes have already come to light.
Russia: Bloggers Expose Pro-Kremlin Youth Movement
Blogger fritzmorgen posts[RUS] pictures of Anastasia Denisenko, a regional leader of “Molodaya Gvardia”, Russian pro-Kremlin youth movement. The movement officially agitates against alcoholism and drug abuse, although the unofficial pictures depict quite the opposite. The blogger also supplies the posters of the various club parties sponsored by the movement.
