7 April 2011

Stories from 7 April 2011

Hungary: Fear of Pushing Copyright Term Extension Proposal

Kluwer Copyright Blog writes: “According to an official press release, the Danish government has changed its position and now endorses the European Commission’s proposal to extend the term of protection for sound recordings. Since Denmark was part of a fragile blocking minority in the European Council, there is a danger...

Jamaica: Poetry & Sensuality

  7 April 2011

For his 21 Days/21 Poems series, diaspora litblogger Geoffrey Philp posts an erotic poem by Jacqueline Johnson, saying: “What I love about this poem is the subdued sensuality.”

Cuba: Political Opposition

  7 April 2011

Uncommon Sense republishes “what repression on the island looked like in March”, according to the statistics put forward by Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation.

Puerto Rico: Clarifying Domestic Violence Decision

  7 April 2011

Blogger and feminist lawyer Veronica RT, also President of the Women's Commission of the Bar Association of Puerto Rico, clarifies the misconceptions created by public officials [es] regarding the recent controversial Supreme Court decision that leaves “adulterous” women without the special protections offered by the Law against Domestic Violence [en].

Puerto Rico: Digital Literature

  7 April 2011

Journalist, artist and blogger Carlos Antonio Otero has decided to expand his digital experimentation to Twitter under @cuentopatuiter, which he is using to publish a story in 10 parts. “As soon as it ends, and you have read the story, I will be waiting for your reactions,” he says in his...

Brazil: Blood appeal for the victims of school shooting rampage

  7 April 2011

Bloggers support blood appeal to help the victims of the shooting rampage inside a school in Realengo, Rio de Janeiro, that echoed the Columbine High School massacre. Luiz Felipe Vasques [pt] says “it is time for solidarity, folks. We can ask why we only copy bad traits from North-Americans later”.

China: Everybody Can Become Ai Weiwei

  7 April 2011

A fellow filmmaker and activist, Ai Xiaoming, herself under heavy surveillance, tries to sum up the significance of detained Chinese artist Ai Weiwei's work: "Ai has managed to greatly legitimize the act of citizen filming, showing people that they have the right to film and record, as well as the right to scrutinize."

Nigeria: Will Technology Impact 2011 Elections?

  7 April 2011

Nigerians will go to the polls on 16 April 2011 to elect their new president. The election was postponed from 9 April 2011 because of organizational difficulties. In this post we are looking at how Nigerians are using technology to enhance electoral transparency, political participation and good governance.

Guatemala's “Mobile Phone Democracy”

  7 April 2011

“Guatemala’s evolving mobile sector, representative of the region, shows how this technology can offer unprecedented participation in both local and global civic conversations and actions. It is presenting an opportunity for nation-building (however nascent) and democratization that neither the Guatemalan government nor U.S. and European foreign policy have been able...

Côte d'Ivoire: Gbagbo Resists, Africans Protest

  7 April 2011

While former Côte d'Ivoire President Laurent Gbagbo is still holed up in a bunker in the country, resisting arrest for continuing to deny his loss of the 2010 presidential election, the participation of France in the bid to oust him is raising reactions amongst French politicians and citizens, as well as within the African community in France.

Japan: Earthquake catfish prints

  7 April 2011

Pinktentacle published images from the series of namazu-e (lit. “catfish pictures”) that was realized in the 19th century after the Great Ansei Earthquake. “These prints featured depictions of mythical giant catfish (namazu) who, according to popular legend, caused earthquakes by thrashing about in their underground lairs.”

Barbados: Windies-Leaks?

  7 April 2011

Two Barbadian blogs take note of a new website dedicated to “all the West Indies Cricket Board dirt, all the time.”

Russia: Compromising Photos of Saint-Petersburg Judge Leaked

Blogger Yanvarlamov publishes private (and quite compromising) pictures [ru] of Alexey Kuznetsov, Saint-Petersburg judge famous for sentencing opposition activists. On the pictures, Kuznetsov is depicted as a heavy drinker and a person that can hardly be called a source of a reasonable judgement. Besides, on one of the pictures his colleague...

Sri Lanka: Women’s Photography Exhibition 2011

  7 April 2011

Dushiyanthini at Groundviews writes about the recently concluded Women’s Photography Exhibition 2011 held at the Harold Peiris Gallery in Colombo. Thirty Four Sri Lankan women photographers participated in the exhibition.

Pakistan: Killings And Abductions In Balochistan

  7 April 2011

“Pakistani media and its civil society cannot abandon their duty to highlight the woes of all those Baloch who are being killed, tortured or abducted” – comments Raza Rumi while discussing about the secession movement in Balochistan and the repression of the authorities.