Stories from 2 December 2011
Macedonia: NGOs and Netizens Prevent Undemocratic Youth Law
The withdrawal of the undemocratic Draft Law on Youth from the parliamentary procedure indicates that the otherwise stubborn authorities can be persuaded not to do more harm if the civil society, social media users and international organizations work together. Filip Stojanovski reports.
Slovenia: Dec. 4 Elections Updates
Updates on the upcoming Dec. 4 parliamentary elections – by Dr. Filomena and Sleeping With Pengovsky (here, here, here, and here). Pengovsky concludes: “The way it looks right now, Janša seems poised to win on 4 December. However whether or not he will be able to form a coalition remains...
Sri Lanka: Colombo Property Issues
Colombo Property developments are not well managed and the values are inconsistent, opines Indi.ca.
Bangladesh: The First Dhaka Tweetup
A.I. Sajib participated in the first Dhaka Tweetup and writes all about it.
Bangladesh: Where Are His Parents?
Monirul Alam appeals to his blog readers to help a lost boy find his parents.
Iran: 4 hours instead of ‘444 days’
Robab who objects the raid on UK compounds in Tehran, says [Fa]: “Thanks God that they got satisfied with 4 hours of taking UK hostages, and it didn't reach 444 days that 52 Americans were held hostage“.
Colombia: Mixed Feelings About Ecotouristic Project
Cineaoloido points us to this documentary [es] on the social and economical impact that the people of Santa Elena near Medellin have experienced since the opening of a massive ecotouristic park in their community.
Iran:The alien theory
Amir Bayani writes in Article 19 “Mohammad Javad Larijani of Iran’s Judiciary (the head of the human rights council in the judiciary) gave the world reassurance that we have fair judicial procedures in Iran…It just occurred to me that maybe he is an alien, just landed somewhere in Iran.”
Caribbean: Thoughts on World AIDS Day
December 1, was World AIDS Day. Bloggers from the Caribbean have weighed in with their own thoughts about and support for the ongoing battle against HIV and AIDS.
Cuba: The 99 Per Cent
Uncommon Sense reports on the latest activity in the Occupy Cuba movement, here and here.
Barbados: Environmental Laws Needed
In the wake of a fire at a chemical warehouse, Barbados Free Press says: “This week’s spill disaster again reminds us that when it comes to environmental standards, laws and performance, our leaders have made us a third world country.”
Latin American Hackathon Seeks to Create Web Apps to Solve Social Problems
On December 3 and 4, 2011, developers, designers, academics and other experts from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay, will participate in “Desarrollando América Latina” [es] (Developing Latin America), a 30 hour open data hackathon to develop web applications that help solve social problems related to education, public budgets,...
Africa: Online Space for African Languages and Poetry
Maneno Matamu is a platform for African poets/writers to showcase their work in the rich and beautiful languages this continent is blessed with. It is a collective breath expressing our linguistic peculiarities, discoveries and oddities.
Zambia: How Netizens Observed World AIDS Day
Zambian netizens on various social media sites observed the World Aids Day, which falls on December 1, with a call for people to know their HIV status. Zambians, who say “if you are not infected, you are affected” know better about the effects of HIV/AIDS which has for the last 30 years claimed many lives in the country.
Sao Tome and Principe: Photographic View of the Country
The blog Viagem a São Tomé e Príncipe (Trip do Sao Tome and Principe) has made available a rich archive of photography that illustrates a range of aspects from the country, as for instance unique fruits and flowers, colorful markets and churches, street art and other artistic and cultural demonstrations.
Tanzania: YoungAfricaLive Mobile Community Launched
Robert blogs about the launch of YoungAfrica Live mobile community: “Virtual youth community movement, YoungAfricaLive, has launched in Tanzania through Vodacom mobile. Young Africa Live is a mobile community that entertains and educates young people on topics of love, sexual health, gender and relationships which are issues adversely affecting the...
Brazil: Documentary on Belo Monte Seeks Funds from the Crowd
Belo Monte: Announcement of a War is the title of a Brazilian independent video production about the hydroelectric plant's impact, which has made its way to the top of the most expensive crowdfunding campaigns in the Catarse platform. The short documentary had tried crowdfunding before without success.
Russia: Detained Member of Parliament Uses Live Mobile Broadcasting
Ilya Ponomarev, member of Russian Duma, who was detained by Novosibirsk police [ru] due to “illegal distribution” of his party newspaper conducted live broadcasting via his mobile phone from the police station and responded to text messages from viewers. Finally, he was released by a police officer in front of his mobile...
Slovakia: Visualising Business Registry Data with Vorsr.sk
Vorsr.sk is a tool for visual exploration of Slovakia's business registry. It treats the information as one big social network, grabbing the newest data live and delivering up-to-date connections of searched for individuals. This interview features the project's Co-founder Michal Habala.
China: Marriage Transaction
ChinaHush has translated the script of an online video and a new movie trailer, A Big Deal, in which women talk about their attitude towards marriage. More and more Chinese women believe that marriage is like business transaction and “men without money are garbage” in the marriage market.
