Stories from 21 April 2011
Bangladesh: Netizens Protest Human Rights Abuse in the Hills
Ethnic violence has sparked again in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh between Bengali settlers and indigenous people due to land disputes. The mainstream media have been accused of highlighting the Bengali casualties only and are ignoring the plights of the local aboriginal people. But this time around these minorities have found a voice via blogs and Facebook.
Jamaica: Walcott's Work
Litblogger Geoffrey Philp features a poem by Derek Walcott, saying: “I swear, [he] makes writing verse look so easy…a poet whose oeuvre shows a deep love for the Caribbean–its language, landscape and light.”
Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago: REDjet Delay
“People don’t take kindly when you make newspaper announcements that you’re coming for dinner, but you didn’t bother to inform the host”: Barbados Free Press blogs about new regional carrier REDjet's apparent failure to comply with licensing processes in Trinidad and Tobago.
Cuba: Fonseca Released
“The publicity on Facebook, Twitter and blogs only intensified…”: Uncommon Sense says that the release of Cuban human rights activist Sara Martha Fonseca “is a victory for freedom.”
Bermuda: Shrinking Population = Shrinking Economy?
In the face of declining local retail sales, Vexed Bermoothes believes that “the real reason for the anaemic economy is that Bermuda’s population has shrunk … and that the local economy has shrunk correspondingly.”
Bangladesh: RIP Tim Hetherington
This is from a newly found Facebook group commemorating photographer Tim Hetherington, who died on duty while covering the front lines in the besieged city of Misrata, Libya – “We, the Bangladeshi photographers express our deep condolence to Tim's family. Tim was a teacher in Pathshala- The South Asian Media...
Chile: Nurse Expedites Organ Transport Using Twitter
Cristina Bizama, a nurse at Talca hospital in Chile, has devised a way to speed up the transport of organs from the city of Talca to the capital, Santiago, some 260 kilometers away. Everything started with one tweet: "Incredible! There is no way to transport 5 organs to [Santiago]."
Sri Lanka: Much Ado About The UN Advisory Panel Report
Indrajit Samarajiva at Indi.ca provides a voice of reason regarding the much hyped and loathed UN Advisory panel report on human rights abuse during the fag end of Sri Lanka's war against the LTTE. The blogger comments that the debate is not exactly helping towards reconciliation.
Zambia: Cadre Diplomats
Zambian Economist reacts to reports that the Zambian president pleaded for funding from a supposedly non-partisan Foreign Service: “This should be considered an abuse of office. The President has turned the foreign service into a funding pot for his re-election campaign.”
Kenya: Poets and Writers Online
The power of the pen meets the power of the Net in Kenya: “The digital world remains unconquered by creative writers with platforms like Itunes offering opportunities to poets and writers who can turn their work into audio. Youtube is a free video site where one can easily upload their...
Zambia: Tweeps Discuss Need For Condom Distribution in Prisons
Issues such as HIV/AIDS and homosexuality are emotive issues in Zambia. The former has claimed a lot of lives in the last quarter of a century and the latter is an issue that people dare not talk about publicly. Some Zambians on Twitter have however, brought an interesting aspect to the homosexuality debate - that condoms should be distributed in Zambian prisons, where sodomy is known to be practised.
Guatemala: Maximón and Other Holy Week Traditions
The different and special elements of religiosity in Guatemala make Holy Week (in Spanish, 'Semana Santa') quite a unique experience. Somehow the Catholic religion has been "hacked" to incorporate indigenous peoples' gods, goddesses, rites and ceremonies while integrating elements of Catholicism.
Russia: Medvedev Unhappy With Websites on Drug Preparation
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called for shutting down the websites containing the information on preparation of drugs. He said that web hosting providers should be responsible for closing those sites, Russian information agency “RIA Novosty” reported.
China: The Murder Case of Yao Jiaxin
Over the past few months, the cold-blooded murder of a young woman, Zhang Miao, by affluent music student Yao Jiaxin, has been the most heated topic on the Chinese Internet. On the eve of the verdict in the murder trial, propaganda authorities have demanded that all media outlets use the Xinhua report as their only news source, as well as to monitor all related online discussions.
Russia-Switzerland: New magazine for Russia, Belarus and Ukraine
Gedankenbörsen Blog draws attention to [GER] a new magazine in Switzerland – Echo – about Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.
China: Facebook's PR strategy
Bill Bishop at DigiCha and Imagethief's Will Moss ruminate on Facebook's PR strategy as speculation grows over the social networking site's possible entry into the Chinese market.
Russia: Discarding marriage
Yelena of Russian Blog discusses the double meaning of the Russian word “brak” namely marriage and discards.
Russia: Penza Prosecutor's Office Investigates Anti-Semitic Comments
The prosecutor's office of Penza region started to check anti-Semitic comments and pictures that had appeared on Penza information portal pnz.ru. After the evaluation of the material, the prosecutor's office will decide on the possibility of a criminal case.
Russia: Reactions to Putin annual speech
Democratist shares some reactions on Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin's, speech to the Russian parliament on Wednesday April 20, and reflects upon it from the perspective of the 2012 presidential elections.
Indonesia: Suicide Bomber Targets Police Mosque
A suicide bomber attacked the Adz-Zikro mosque located within a police complex in Cirebon City in Indonesia last Friday, April 15, 2011. Dozens were injured when the bomb exploded during Friday prayers. Indonesia is the most populous Muslim dominated nation in the world and in recent years, it has been targeted by extremist terrorist groups. Here are some reactions from Indonesian bloggers.
Russia: Migration Service Official's Racist Comments
At GlobalPost, Miriam Elder writes about the spokesman of Russia's Federal Migration Service, who was “fired after telling the BBC that migrants posed a challenge to the purity of the ‘white race’.”
