17 December 2010

Stories from 17 December 2010

Haiti: Ballots Video

  17 December 2010

prophet N posts a video which, “according to unconfirmed sources…was filmed by UN peacekeepers in Cite Soleil” and may point to inconsistencies with regard to electoral ballots.

Jamaica: Documentary on Police Abuse

  17 December 2010

Repeating Islands reports on the launch of a documentary which chronicles instances of police injustice and debuted “to a crowd of more than 300 to commemorate International Human Rights Day.”

Dominica: Authentic Craft

  17 December 2010

Dominica Weekly is proud of its craftspeople, saying: “Dominica is ahead of the game when it comes to authentic art and craft.”

Cuba: Economic Crisis

  17 December 2010

Iván's File Cabinet says that the “times of crisis” that the country is facing is affecting everyone – even the prostitutes.

Sudan: Southern Sudanese to vote in eight countries

  17 December 2010

Southern Sudanese in eight countries around the world will be able to participate in Southern Sudan Independence Referendum: “The United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM) is organizing “Out of Country Voting” in eight countries, so that Southern Sudan’s undeniably far-flung (think Australia to California to the UK) diaspora population.”

Cote d'Ivoire: Massacre in Abidjan

  17 December 2010

Alex Angwete discusses the volatile political situation in Cote d'Ivoire: “Yesterday, northern politicians Alassane Draman Ouattara and his PM-designate Guillaume Soro sent their “unarmed” supporters in the streets to attempt and seize the buildings of the national television station…The death toll was quite staggering: 30 dead demonstrators and bystanders.”

Africa: Banana leaf packaging for street food

  17 December 2010

Banana leaf packaging for street food in Africa: “…banana leaves are a packaging solution that has existed for thousands of years, still exists today, and that could benefit the environment by simply expanding their use to new areas”

Ethiopia/US: Soul Food: Mike-e's Afroflow

  17 December 2010

Negrita writes about Mike-e, an American artist born in Ethiopia: “his album afroflow ii pays tribute to the fact that hip-hop flows from africa and his music is heavily influenced by the sounds of africa, in general and ethiopia in particular.”

Africa: Corrective rape testimonies from around Africa

  17 December 2010

Rose highlights corrective rape testimonies from around Africa: “it’s really important to point out how the increasing incidences of violence against gay people in Africa include the grotesque practice of corrective rape, where women are raped, and in some cases, infected with HIV and/or made pregnant.”

Vietnam: BarCamp and EduCamp Saigon 2010

  17 December 2010

Around 500 participants attended Barcamp Saigon 2010 this week in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Saigon Educamp was also held where participants discussed technology as well as teaching and learning. Here are blog and twitter reactions

India: What the Telecom Scam Revealed

  17 December 2010

Rajesh Jain of Emergic, in a series of posts, opines that the recent telecom scam in India exposed  how deeply corruption has penetrated the Indian society – impacting economic growth and corroding trust.

Bangladesh: Marginalizing the Benarasi Weavers

  17 December 2010

Tithe Farhana, in a guest post in Pickled Politics, highlights the problems of the Benarasi weaving industry in Bangladesh and points out that the Benarasi Weavers continue to be seen as stranded Pakistanis.

Sri Lanka: Diaspora Dilemmas

  17 December 2010

V V Ganeshananthan at Sepia Mutiny analyses the present and future role of the various Sri Lankan diasporas in influencing the Nation's future. Should their role be limited to economic contributions only?