Stories from 20 April 2011
Russia: Social Networking Via a “Prison” Game, Female Users’ Photos
Katya Trubilova of Social Media Lessons From Russia and the UK writes this, among other things, about Russia's largest social network VKontakte: “The most popular app on Vkontakte is a...
Azerbaijan: Protest to demand journalist's release
Mark Grigorian [RU] posts photographs of today's protest demonstration outside the Azerbaijani Embassy in London in support of imprisoned journalist and Amnesty International prisoner of conscience Eynulla Fatullayev. Marking the...
Russia: A Video of President Medvedev Dancing
Siberian Light, Global Chaos and Russia! are among those who comment on a YouTube video of President Dmitry Medvedev dancing to the Russian pop song “American Boy” at a college...
Colombia: Anti-Personnel Mines and the “Remángate” Campaign
April 4, 2011, marked the celebration of the International Day of Awareness of Anti-personnel Mines. In Colombia, the Presidential Program for Action Against Anti-personnel Mines (Paicma) joined corporate groups and social organizations to promote the "Remángate" campaign. The campaign relies on its website, Twitter account (@remangate) and hashtag #Remangate.
Costa Rica: Climate Change Affecting the Cloud Forest
The Monteverde Now project documents the stories of 11 members of the Monteverde Community through short video interviews where they explain how their life has been transformed and how they are adapting to sustaining their diverse and delicate ecosystem in the face of climate change.
India: Twitter, The Life Changer
Venkat Ananth at Blogadda writes how twitter has changed his life: “twitter has been a supremely humbling experience for me not just because of the fact that ‘a nobody’ got...
Pakistan: Urdu Losing Its Glory?
“Urdu stands at the brink of artistic and aesthetic extinction,” opines Pakistani blogger Salman Latif.
Malaysia: Email For Citizens Project Draws Criticism
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that all Malaysians aged 18 years and above will receive a 1Malaysia email account. But many bloggers have criticized the project as unnecessary, saying that its estimated cost of RM 50 million can be better used for other purposes.
Russia: Reactions to Freedom House Internet report
LJ user dolboeb discusses [RU] how Russia is portrayed in the recent Freedom House report on Freedom on the Net 2011.
South Korea: Search Engine Censorship Claims
As South Korea's biggest search engines file an anti-competition charge against Google, net users have started to look back at the various companies' contributions to the Korean net environment. The nation's most visited portal, Naver, has come under particular fire for alleged news screening and censorship of information, along with its monopoly in the field.
Zimbabwe: Interview With Zimbabwean Political Scientist
Read Upenyu Makoni-Muchemwa interview with Zimbabwean author, political scientist and commentator, John Makumbe.
Cuba: Communist Party Ushers in Entrepreneurism and Term Limits
For the minority of Cubans who are within it, the blogosphere provides a space to exchange ideas. And there were plenty prompts for discussion this week, with the Castro brothers holding the first Congress of its Communist party since 1997 (it is supposed to be every five years) and announcing term limits for leadership on the island.
Gambia: Coalition for Change Distances Itself From Government's Position
The Coalition for Change – The Gambia (CCG) dissociates itself from position of the Gambia Government regarding Cote d’Ivoire: “The most recent inconsequential state televised statement of President Jammeh calling...
Syria: Homs Protests Attract Thousands (Video)
Despite the security crackdown, protests are continuing in Syria, with countless of videos surfacing online showing thousands of protesters calling for the overthrow of the Assad regime. Here is a selection of videos from Homs.
Cuba: Women as Soldiers?
Octavo Cerco is irritated by a sign which suggests that “we Cuban women form a battalion for the defense of the fatherland”, saying: “It bothers me greatly that the multiple...
Caribbean: The Cricket Captaincy
“It’s very interesting to read old minutes from WICB meetings and seeing how directors scheme and hatch their plans”: WICB Expose suggests that plans for the Darren Sammy captaincy may...
Bahamas, U.S.A.: Economic Empowerment
“The best way to address poverty and fairness in our society is through a radical overhaul of our failing education system”: Bahama Pundit sees some parallels with the U.S. regarding...
Cuba: The More Things “Change”
Uncommon Sense finds recent announcements about reform in Cuba ironic in the context of developments like these.
Algeria: A Sit-In for Reporter Khaled Sid Mohand, Detained in Syria
A group of journalist, members of the MJIC and a few leaders of the FFS organised a protest in front of the Syrian embassy in Algiers in solidarity with reporter...
Madagascar: Censorship Comes in Different Shapes and Sizes
Blogger Achille52 reviews the state of media and free speech in Madagascar (fr), detailing the different manners in which bloggers are harassed (also explained in an Amnesty International report). He...
Memories of Portuguese Decolonization
“In their dreams they still revisit Africa”, and they share their memories on the blog Retornados da África [pt]. Read the stories of those who returned to Portugal from the...
