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
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
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
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
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
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
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?
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.
Mexico: 59 Bodies Found in Mass Graves in Tamaulipas
In Vivir México [es], Perla Cristal Gomez reports that 59 bodies and 8 mass graves were found in San Fernando in the state of Tamaulipas, the same municipality where 72 migrants were found dead in August of 2010.
Peru: Blogger Interviews Mayor of Lima Susana Villarán
Blogger Carlos A. Quiroz [es] interviewed the mayor of Lima, Susana Villarán, and posted a video and photos of his meeting with “the mayor, activist, educator and blogger.”
Guatemala's “Mobile Phone Democracy”
“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
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.
Russia: Communist campaign against tandemocracy
Vadim Nikitin of Foreign Policy‘s Russia Blog discusses a campaign video [RU] for the 2012 presidential elections, allegedly first posted on the Communist Party website, which portrays the Putin-Medvedev tandemocracy as an apocalypse in the making.
Japan: Earthquake catfish prints
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?
Two Barbadian blogs take note of a new website dedicated to “all the West Indies Cricket Board dirt, all the time.”
Russia: RuNet Celebrates 17 Years Today
Habrahabr-user kremlin reminds [ru] the world that on April 7, 1994 “.ru” domain had been included to IANA, root zone database. This means, today is the 17th birthday of the Russian Internet! Congratulations!
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
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
“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.
Bhutan: Losing The National Game
Passu is worried that archery, the national game of Bhutan may go into oblivion soon.
Ukraine: Eyewitness Video of a Racist Attack on Kyiv Metro
Slava Baranskiy witnessed (RUS) the beating of a black African man on a crowded metro train in the center of Kyiv, between Khreshchatyk and Arsenalna stations, on April 2. Baranskiy was in an adjacent train car and recorded the beating on video, which he later gave to the police, who,...