Stories from 15 December 2010
Guinea: Clarification from Reporters Without Borders
The blog banabananews.org published [fr] a press release from Paris by the NGO Reporters Without Borders, dated 8th December 2010 in which it states: “‘Reporter Sans Frontière Section Guinée’ has absolutely nothing to do with the campaign for freedom of the press, has no link whatsoever with our organisation, and is...
Côte d'Ivoire: Citizens Marching towards another “Orange Revolution”?
Although the atmosphere was already quite worrisome in Côte d'Ivoire, the tension level climbed up a few notches in the past few days. After a skirmish on December 12 between the two opposite camps and the prolongation of the cease-fire by Laurent Gbagbo, Alassane Ouattara and his partisans are now calling on the population to "engage in a pacific and democratic mass protest in order to install the legitimate and legal administration". Bloggers react before the potentially explosive event:
Puerto Rico: Second Student Strike
Students of the University of Puerto Rico have started the second strike in less than a year, this time in protest against a special tuition fee to be charged in January. Follow the hashtag #huelgaUPR in Twitter, the student blog Desde Adentro [es], and the digital magazine 80 grados [es]...
Guinea: « WikiLeaks » Revelation on the Discussions between Burkina Faso, the United States, France and Morocco about Dadis
The website Guinée Inter published an article from Jeune Afrique which reveals [fr] that: “A series of American diplomatic cables, published by WikiLeaks on Saturday, details the four-way discussions which took place between the President of Burkina Faso Blaise Compaoré, the United States, France and Morocco between the end of...
Nepal: Former Crown Prince Arrested
Former crown prince of Nepal Paras Shah was recently arrested by police on charges of illegal possession of a gun and Ujjwal Acharya opines that “it symbolically indicates the ‘real’ end of the monarchic power and is also a step towards the no-tolerance towards criminal activities under political hood.”
India: On Eve Teasing
Maesy Angelina at Blank Noise comments: “eve teasing is an issue that nobody talks about. It seems like a monumental thing to try and change it.”
Mexico: Drug Gang Mobilizes Unlikely Supporters
“Following two days of intense unrest last week, which included the torching of dozens of vehicles and gunfire in city streets, the drug gang known as La Familia Michoacana (LFM) mobilized masses of people to take to the streets […] in which innocent-looking women and children carried placards voicing support...
Blogger.com Removes Two Blogs by Same Author for More than 12 Hours
Blogger Carlos Quiroz writes, “On Monday, December 13, 2010 around by at 11:00 AM. my blog Carlos in DC was deleted by Blogger.com after I tried posting a video of the WikiLeaks anonymous activists. Blogger also deleted my blog Peruanista without any explanation. Both blogs were removed for more than 12 hour.”
Russia: Studying Online Mobilization of the Manezh Riots
Recent riots on Manezhnaya Square next to the Kremlin showed that Russian soccer fans have become a powerful community who can mobilize thousands very quickly around an event. Last week, that event was the commemoration of Yegor Sviridov, a fan of the Moscow soccer club “Spartak” who was murdered in...
Russia: Police Intensifies Surveillance ‘to Prevent Calls to Violence’
Special services are monitoring social networks and track IP-addresses of those who spread calls to violence, rian.ru reports [RUS]. Vkontakte.ru, Russian social network, increased removal of the groups with xenophobia content after the events at Manezh square. “600 moderators work on removal of groups inciting hate-crime”, rian.ru adds [RUS].
Russia: Photos and a Testimony of the Clashes in Moscow
Photo-blogger Ilya Varlamov (@varlamov) and bb-mos tweet and share photos of the current events in the center of Moscow. Tujana-jx reports a story of a skinhead assaulting an older woman in metro.
Russia: the Blogosphere Boils As Ethnic Clashes Flood Moscow
Interfax.ru, Russian news portal moved to manual update mode due to the overload caused by numerous ethnic clashes (so far 1200 arrested and 30 injured) in different places of Moscow, news2.ru reported. Fanat1k.ru, largest soccer fan media outlet, has been inaccessible throughout the day, many smaller fan forums don't load...
Demotix and Global Voices join forces
This week we're announcing a new partnership between Global Voices and Demotix - the award-winning citizen photojournalism platform. Wherever it makes sense, we will use their images, and they will use our text.
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Gonsalves Re-Elected
Bloggers from St. Vincent and the Grenadines comment on the outcome of the country's general election.
Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados: Duprey & CL Financial
B.C. Pires learns from a Trinidad news report that the CEO at the helm of the CL Financial collapse is willing to come back to the country to “set things right”, saying: “You don’t know whether to laugh or slit your wrists.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Gun Control
Diaspora blogger Jumbie's Watch says that for Trinidad and Tobago to see a dent in crime, “we must first change the attitude of the people, not arm them with guns.”
Jamaica: Kartel & Cake Soap
“I never understood Bleaching, I can't understand how this is an actual phenomena in the same place that gave birth to Marcus Garvey”: The Phoenix in a Gas House explains.
Guyana: Time for Snow?
Guyana-Gyal thinks that snow is beautiful, but according to her best friend, “There is only one place from which to view snow. The tropics.”
Brazil: Literature and Prejudice against the poor
Paulo Lopes comments [pt] on controversial statements by Brazilian actress and former sex-symbol Vera Fischer. In an interview to Folha newspaper, a few days before launching the latest of ten books she has written in a year (according to blog Acerto de Contas [pt]), Fischer said she does not write...
Brazil: Key player at COP 16 but bad example at home?
In Cancún, there is great deal of expectation towards the Brazilian delegation. Meanwhile, back in Brazil, the new Forestry Code proposal suddenly made its way back to the National Congress end of year voting agenda.
Mexico: Mapping the Heroes of Ciudad Juárez
Vivir México [es] reports that the initiative Cronicas de Heroes [es] (Hero Chronicles) –inspired by Hero Reports New York– aims to document and report the good deeds of the people of Ciudad Juárez. Starting December 17, users will be able to map good deeds they witness in the city.