Stories from 11 August 2011
Australia: Malaysia No Solution to ‘Boat People’ Politics
The Australian government’s attempt to take a hard line on people smugglers and asylum seekers arriving by boat has hit a major snag. In December 2010, approximately 50 asylum seekers were drowned at Christmas Island. A legal challenge has postponed a swap of the surviving refugees with Malaysia.
Russia: A Psycho-Neurological Patient's Photo Stories
Pasha Kyshtymov, a lifelong psycho-neurological patient in Siberia, cannot communicate through speech, but had no problems learning to express himself through photography. On his blog, the Russian photographer Oleg Klimov has documented the poignant impromptu experience of teaching Pasha to share his worldview with others.
Barbados: Jamaicans Plead Guilty to Drug Smuggling
As eight Jamaicans plead guilty to smuggling marijuana into Barbados, BFP says: “Drug mules are the Privates. Who are the Generals?”
Syria: World Cities Rally Against and For Bashar
Events in Syria are being echoed around the world. Syrians in the diaspora rallied in the majority of the cities in the world, either asking to overthrow Bashar Al Assad and his regime or chanting their love to their leader. Check out this video round up for footage from demonstrations worldwide.
Tunisia: “The People Want an Independent Judiciary”
“People want independent judiciary" is a slogan that has been recently raised in the streets of Tunisia. Afef Abrougui takes a look at the reactions of bloggers following the release of two former ministers as well as a close ally of the former Tunisian strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, whose freedom has sparked calls for more protests.
Lebanon: Cellphone Cameras for Crowd-Sourcing
A crowd-sourcing campaign was launched in Lebanon titled: “Cheyif 7alak” [Arabic for “Do you see yourself”]. It calls on people to use their cellphone cameras (or any others) to shoot any wrong doings they encounter everyday, posts the Lebanese Inner Circle.
Mauritania: Discrimination Plagues Census
adrar-info.net publishes an article on Mauritanian demonstrations in Paris and Mauritania, related to the current population census in Mauritania. Black Mauritanians apparently have a difficult time getting their name registered [fr]. According to Haimout Ba, the Paris based representative of UFP (Union of Forces of Progress, an opposition party), “they...
Puerto Rico: State Funding of Religious Campaigns
The site of the online radio station Bonita Radio [es] publishes an interview [es] with members of the feminist coalition Movimiento Amplio de Mujeres de Puerto Rico [es] about the recent state funding of the US based religious campaign Promise Keepers, which purports to fight against domestic violence.
Puerto Rico: Comment from ex Director of Diálogo
Marcos Pérez, the former director of the University of Puerto Rico's monthly newspaper Diálogo, briefly comments on his recent dismissal, in the online publication 80 Grados [es].
Cuba: What is a Terrorist Organization?
Osmany Sánchez from La Joven Cuba responds [es] to a post written by fellow blogger Miriam Celaya, which has stirred a tremendous debate in the Cuban blogosphere. In his response, Sánchez assures that some bloggers in Cuba have connections with terrorist organizations from the Cuban exile community.
Iran: Remember Omid Reza MirSayafi
Iran's Freedom of Expression site has conducted [fa] an interview with Omid Reza Mirsayafi's close friend about his death. Omid Reza Mirsayafi, a blogger, died in a prison in Iran more tahn two years ago. if Omid had survived the prison, he would have been released two days ago.
Ecuador: Newspapers Protest With Covers ‘For Freedom of Expression’
“Major Ecuadorian newspapers ran the same cover today [August 10] — “For Freedom of Expression” — to protest President Rafael Correa’s increasing verbal and legal attacks on the independent media. The President devoted 42 minutes to his State of the Union speech today to criticism of the press”: Adam Isacson...
Colombia: Indigenous People March On Antioquia's Independence Day
Today, August 11, is independence day in Antioquia. More than one thousand Indigenous people are marching through the streets [es] of Medellín to reach [es] the Alpujarra [es] where the local government is located. They are calling for the right to life because in less than 3 months 16 of...
Costa Rica: Metropolitan Cathedral will be Surrounded by Sluts
This Sunday, the Costa Rican SlutWalk will come together in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral in the capital city of San José. The walk comes as a response to the statements made by a Catholic Bishop and visiting Cardinal during Costa Rica's Patron Saint ceremony on August 2nd, where they...
Kenya: Mocality Launches Daily Deals and Mobile Apps.
Watch a video of Moses Kemibaro's interview with Joshua Mwaniki, the Country Manager for Mocality in Kenya, on the impending launch of Mocality Deals: “In addition to the deals, Mocality recently also launched mobile apps for both Apple’s iOS (i.e. iPhone, iPad and iPod devices) on the App Store and...
China: Tweets Didn't Start the Fire
China's main state television station has launched a second offensive against microbloggers and users of other social media, this time on the back of the recent British riots. The attack has left netizens guessing at the true motivation at play.
Guinea-Bissau: Films From Guinea-Bissau
Kris introduces his readers to films from Guinea-Bissau: “As African cinemas go, Guinea-Bissau is not well researched and there’s not that much about written about its history in film. I submit to you some of the films I’ve seen and some of the links that might be useful.”
Bermuda, Jamaica: London Burning
Jamaican diaspora blogger Grasshopper Eyes The Potomac and Bermuda's Respice Finem blog about the London riots.
Russia: Bloggers’ Summer of Civic Actions
Although August is traditionally considered a quiet month in Russia, the country's Internet has been alive with hundreds and thousands of people taking part in a number of social actions. Marina Litvinovich explores this new summer phenomenon.
Russia: President is Critisized for New Open Data Initiative.
Russian expert for open data criticized President Medvedev's initiative [RUS] to put more government data online. The criticism revolves around the lack of transparency, a question of what data should be published and the lack of public discussion around this issue.
Russia: One Million Twitter Accounts in Russian
The number of Twitter accounts in Russian crossed the point of one million, according to recent reseach [ru] by Russian Internet company Yandex. Now, Russian speakers publish around 370,000 tweets a day (comparing to 150,00o a year ago). The percentage of daily active Twitter users (of the total Russian speakers)...
