Stories from 13 September 2010
Azerbaijan: Freedom of expression a pressing concern
Ahead of the 7 November parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan, Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines comments on a new report by Article 19 on freedom of expression in the oil-rich former Soviet republic. With journalists and bloggers in jail much to the concern of the international community, the blog agrees that...
Russia: Paid and Unpaid Bloggers Against the Moscow Mayor
An ongoing TV and online campaign against Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov is now one of the most discussed topics both in the mainstream and citizen media. Most bloggers appear to support the attack on the politician. Alexey Sidorenko analyzes the main patterns of the discussion.
Guatemala: The National Symbol of the Quetzal Bird
With the independence of Guatemala coming up on September 15, Guate360 [es] shares a picture of a Quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala. The blog post also explains that the bird symbolizes freedom, autonomy and independence; it is also the name of the currency in Guatemala.
Chile: Program ‘Enlaces’ Wins International Prize for ICT and Education
Hugo Martínez writes for El Quinto Poder [es] about the importance of an award given to the program Enlaces, created by the Chilean Ministry of Education “to introduce digital technologies in the public schools as a means to reduce the digital divide and as new learning and teaching resources.” The...
India: Kashmir Is Burning…Again
Violent protests in Indian administered Kashmir started today after a report of a Qur'an desecration in Michigan, USA emerged. At least 18 protesters have been killed and scores were injured. Bloggers and Twitter users discuss whether the protests were purely because of anger over the burning of Qur'an or outbursts of their demand for freedom from India.
Blog Carnival: Ecuador: Internet, Society and Participation
Global Voices in Spanish is pleased to announce a new Blog Carnival, which this time targets bloggers from Ecuador, with the topic: "Internet, Society and Participation." Find out about how, when and where you can participate or get involved.
Afghanistan: Kabul Bank on the brink of collapse
Financial crisis is not a luxury reserved for rich countries. Kabul Bank in Afghanistan, which is part-owned by the brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, is on the edge of a $1 billion collapse.
Caucasus: Expedition 206
Having already visited Georgia, Expedition 206 arrived in Armenia. The initiative, sponsored by Coca-Cola, will see three bloggers visit 206 countries in 365 days. iReport [AM] posts photographs as well as an account of the travelers meeting with 20 local bloggers and says that they will travel to Azerbaijan tomorrow....
Haiti: Protest Today
Wadner Pierre reports that residents of several Haitian tent cities were scheduled to demonstrate this morning, calling for decent housing and the right to education.
Jamaica: Animation & Culture
Dancehall claymation – who knew it existed? Art: Jamaica talks about cultural identity with its creator.
Nigeria: Oil Wealth Flows, Hunger Persists
As the BP oil spill in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and its aftermath continue to make headlines, the catastrophe has also brought a little global media attention to the oil-related woes in another country—Nigeria.
Trinidad & Tobago: Sound Plan?
KnowTnT.com weighs in on “government's plans for bailing out CLICO's short-term investment and mutual fund depositors”, while Plain Talk adds: “The contentious…CLICO issue…has…ended up only rewarding the gang of thieves that caused the problem in the first place.”
Barbados: Street Justice
The Bajan Reporter posts video of an alleged pedophile being subjected to a brand of vigilante justice, while Barbados Free Press wonders if the crowd’s action could be a symptom of a larger malaise.
St. Lucia, French Guiana: Googol
“What if a superhero was born today in French Guiana? How do you cope with inviting her into your plan – wherever or whoever you are? I am Googol explores these questions”: Caribbean Book Blog profiles the Caribbean national behind the world's newest superhero.
Costa Rica: What do the Results of the Global Competitiveness Report Mean?
In the blog Asociación de Jóvenes para el Desarrollo [es] (Association of Youth for Development), a blogger analyzes the results of the Global Competitiveness Report by The World Economic Forum. The post concludes with this thought: “Like we can see there is a lot of work to do, but the...
Uruguay: Podcast to Showcase Interviews with Uruguayans Involved in Technology
Every month bloggers from Uruguay: Click para actualizar [es] (Uruguay: Click to Refresh), with the collaboration of Montevideo COMM, will interview a Uruguayan involved in technology and release the interview as a podcast. Their first interview [es] is with Fernando Picún from Trojan Chicken.
Nigeria: Church members against bad leadership
Citizen report of the demonstration of members of the Catholic church in Nigeria: “The Roman Catholic community in Imo and Abia States on Friday September 10th, 2010 did a protest march against bad leadership.”
Iran: Jailed Blogger Shiva Nazar Ahari is Freed on $500,000 Bail
Shiva Nazar Ahari, a jailed human rights activist and blogger, was freed yesterday. According to several news websites, Shiva was released on $500,000 bail. She went to trial in handcuffs in early September and was accused of involvement with the organization, People's Mujahedin of Iran.
South Africa: On court decision against Bible burning
Pierre's reaction to Judge Sita Kolbe of the South Gauteng High Court who issued an interdict on Friday against a planned Bible burning by businessman and law student Mohammed Vawda.
Yoani Sanchez denied another traveling visa
Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez tweets about another visa refusal for traveling, this time to receive the World Press Freedom Hero Award in Vienna, Austria. And it seems unlikely she could attend the Internet for Peace conference (New York City, Sept. 21), a global initiative aimed at supporting the Internet as...
Global: If there is no water, there is no life
The Twentieth gathering for the World Water Week (WWW) took place in Sweden's Capital Stockholm from the 5th to the 11th of September 2010 with the theme The Water Quality Challenge-Prevention, Wise Use and Abatement. According to the organisers, “urbanisation, agriculture, industry and climate change exert mounting pressure on both the quantity and quality of our water resources.”
