Stories from 5 December 2011
Russia: The Revolt of “Net Hamsters”
The day after the elections, Russians got together to rally against election fraud. Even though the United Russia party, according to preliminary results, is to lose some 77 seats compared to the previous Duma, most of the protesters considered the election to be neither fair, nor free.
Cuba: Loving Yoani
Along the Malecon links to an interview with blogger Yoani Sanchez’ husband, in which he reveals that “he quickly realized she was special.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Celebrating Christmas
Outlish offers some advice on what not to say if you're “liming” in Trinidad and Tobago for Christmas.
Jamaica: Political Futures
Girl With a Purpose makes a few political predictions, here.
St. Kitts & Nevis: Poor Credit Rating
Abeng News Magazine notes that “the credit rating of St Kitts and Nevis…took a hit when it defaulted on a bond payment the end of November”, adding: “Maybe because there isn’t an Occupy movement in Basseterre, or because the people of one of the most indebted nations in the world...
St. Lucia: Poetic Preaching
Caribbean Book Blog profiles a local priest who “has just published a book of narrative prose and poetry”, which he describes as ” a Caribbean-centric “theological reflection on the social, historical, economic, religious, political, and national consciousness.”
Bahrain: Fake Twitter Account
Bahraini journalist Reem Khalifa appeals to her followers on Twitter: “Plz my followers make report spam for a fake account @ Reem_Khalifah using my pic, words,articles.”
Bahrain: Twitter User Jailed for 66 Days for Tweeting
The Arab world has a reputation for arresting and torturing bloggers and netizens and Bahrain is no exception. A Twitter user has been tweeting his jail experience over the past few days to share his story with the rest of the world. He says he was jailed for 66 days over tweets.
El Salvador: Remembering El Mozote Massacre 30 Years Later
Tim's El Salvador Blog will publish a series of posts on the El Mozote Massacre, which took place 30 years ago on December 11, 1981: “All but one of the civilians taking refuge in the small village of El Mozote, more than 800 men, women, children and babies, were brutally...
Chile: Legislation to Limit Easter Island Visitors Fails
Around 400 Rapa Nui protested peacefully after a legislation that “would have limited the number of visitors to Easter Island as well as the number of individuals who could move and set-up residency on the Island” failed in Chile's Chamber of Deputies, as Ryan Seelau reports in Indigenous News.
Honduras: Culture under the Ministry of Culture, Art, and Sports
Honduras Culture and Politics asks, “So what is ‘Culture’ in Honduras these days?” in a post that reviews the activities of the Ministry of Culture, Art, and Sports.
Francophone Africa: The Important Literary Contributions from Former Colonies
The Genevan blog of Rémi Mogenet, Le Savoyard de la Tribune, explains with supporting examples that [fr]: “Mythological African traditional stories have made a remarkable entrance into francophone literature”. He quotes the Mandika epic tale of Soundjata, written and published in French by Guinean D. T. Niane, as well as, for...
Saudi Arabia: Netizens Use Online Activism to Draw Attention to Qatif Protests
The month of November marked the return of protests to the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia in 2011, as the people of Qatif took to the streets to demand reforms, equality, the release of their detainees, and political freedom. So far, four protesters have been shot dead by security forces.
Ashura Commemorations Around the World
Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, is a period of mourning for Shia Muslims. Events reach a climax on Ashura, the tenth day of the month. Ayesha Saldanha reports on Ashura commemorations around the world.
Egypt: Romanian Netizen Lavinia Dieac Shares her Egyptian Experience
Romania and Egypt are two distant countries. They have many differences and many things in common as well, such as the fact that they both had revolutions against dictatorships. Romanian netizen Lavinia Dieac, who lives in Cairo, tells us more about her life in Egypt, particularly the days of the revolution.
Lusophone Heritage of “Portugality” Around the World
A Facebook group and a mapping website called “Portugality” have been created to explore the cultures that result from the “global cultural fusion started by Portuguese navigations of the XVth. century and lasting to this day in places like Brazil, Mozambique, East Timor or Malacca”.
Kuwait: A New Prime Minister and Detainees Bailed Out
More than two weeks after protesters stormed the Kuwaiti Parliament, the country has a new Prime Minister. Netizens comment on the 'new era,' political action and the detention, hunger strike and release of protesters arrested for breaking into the Parliament. The protesters have been released on bail, pending trial. Here are netizen reactions to the country's latest developments.
Angola: First video of police confrontation with protesters
The first videos from Saturday's repressed protest in Luanda surfaced on the channel of Angolan Youtube user ekuikui. “Electricity, water, health and education!” and “They demolished my house, I'm gonna sleep here!” are some of the protest movement's chants.
France : Strike against the RFI – France 24 merger project
The blog Écrans, published on the online version of the daily French newspaper Libération, explains the issues [fr] of the merger of the RFI radio and the TV channel France 24 [fr] and its impact on the French public broadcasting system for international news. The RFI staff, worried about the radio...
Ghana : No juridical basis to ban homosexual marriages
According [fr] to West Africa online Radio, “The attorney general of Ghana, Ediké Amidou, recently said to a local radio at Accra that the Ghanaian law about sexual unions doesn't make provisions for homosexuality. As a result, consented relationships between two adults wouldn't be criminally punished.”
China: Anti-rumor VS Anti-censorship
David Bandurski from China Media Project blogs about the appointment of the new head of the state-run China Central Television Hu Zhanfan and the firestorm between the official anti-rumor campaign and the anti-censorship on social media.
