24 October 2011

Stories from 24 October 2011

Egypt: Catch the Former Regime Remnants

  24 October 2011

Last April, an Egyptian court ordered the dissolution of the political organization that ruled the nation for decades. Its members are however reinventing themselves, joining the lists of candidates vying for November's parliamentary elections. See how netizens have joined hands to expose them.

USA: Lawrence Lessig's “Republic, Lost”

  24 October 2011

@Therealpsmst recommends [mk] the talk by anti-corruption activist, law professor and Creative Commons founder Lawrence Lessig (@lessig): “Republic, Lost” is about the role of campaign contribution racket in the times of crisis and ways to reform the U.S. political and financial system.

Honduras: Blogger's Facebook Account is Shut Down

  24 October 2011

‘La Gringa’, from La Gringa's Blogcito, says her Facebook account was disabled because someone filed a complaint about her username (‘La Gringa’, her internet pseudonym) after she published a series of posts on crime in Honduras. She explains why she uses a pseudonym and points out that an online petition...

Chile: Students Storm Former Congress Building

  24 October 2011

Robert L. Funk reports on the storming of the former Congress building in Santiago by students during “a Committee meeting to which the Education Minister had been invited”. Protesters refused to leave, and the President of the Senate, Guido Girardi, “declared that as the parliament is a public institution and...

East Timor: Petition to Keep the Country Debt-Free

  24 October 2011

The Movimento Kontra Deve (Movement Against Debt) and East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) have launched a joint petition to “For a Debt-Free Timor-Leste”. The Government of Timor-Leste is currently free of debt. Despite current substantial income from petroleum resources, the government has announced plans to begin borrowing.

Africa: Africa's Challenge to Western Homosexuality

  24 October 2011

Critical Point discusses Africa's challenge to Western homosexuality: “I feel disappointment when African leaders immediately submit to a foreign concept in order to be assimilated into an “International Community” whose definition of international is decidedly limited! How is it that a relatively recent understanding of homosexuality has predominated over one...

Zambia: Netizens Divided Over Sata's Apology to Angola

  24 October 2011

Since he took over as Zambia’s president after the September 20 election, Michael Sata has committed several diplomatic blunders. The biggest talking point is his apology to the Angolan government for former Zambian ruling party MMD's support of the then Angolan rebel movement.

Cameroon : The First Lady Fake Twitter Account

  24 October 2011

Journalist Beaugas-Orain Djoyoum writes an article entitled ‘The Saucy Chantal Biya‘ [fr] in the Cameroonian IT news portal TIC Mag. He describes the typical updates that can be found on the popular fake Twitter account of the Cameroonian First Lady.

Cuba: Recounting Repression

  24 October 2011

Pedazos de La Isla posts two accounts of Cuban dissidents being beaten and detained, allegedly “just for trying to travel within their own country” and “for demonstrating peacefully”.

Trinidad & Tobago: Making Anya the Fan Favourite

  24 October 2011

The deadline for voting for the Project Runway Fan Favourite is this Wednesday, October 26, at midnight – and Trinidad Carnival Diary is drumming up support for local designer Anya Ayoung-Chee in this post, complete with instructions as to how to upload tweets in bulk.

Cambodia: Worst Flooding in a Decade

  24 October 2011

Cambodia is experiencing the worst flooding in a decade. The government reports that almost a half a million hectares of rice paddies were destroyed by the floods, which could affect food security in the region. Here are more reports about the disaster.