Stories from 1 March 2012
Global Voices Podcast: Remembering Our School Days
In this edition we’re going back to school! From extreme teaching on the Niger River, to the fondest or most memorable educational moments of Global Voices contributors around the world. Plus: How Ethan Zuckerman learned to type so fast.
Trinidad & Tobago: Cost of Carnival
“With the post Carnival cool down over, it’s back to real life and figuring out the bills”: Rishi Sankar posts a spreadsheet that proves how expensive participating in Trinidad Carnival can be.
Chile: Netizens Speak Out Against Mall in Chiloé
With the hashtag #malldecastro [es] Chilean netizens are reacting to a project to build a mall in Castro, Chiloe, in an archipelago in Southern Chile. Gerárdo Espíndola of Mi Voz wrote a post [es] on the project, showing pictures of the mall's current state. El Repuertero, a citizen newspaper of Mi...
Jamaica: Overhauling the Education System
“Don’t you think we ought to use the classroom to create a safe place for self-discovery and learning, coupled with enthusiasm and fun?” Ruthibelle thinks that the country needs “an education revolution.”
Nicaragua: Author Arquímedes González Champions Self-Publishing
Mildred Largaespada reviews [es] the work of Nicaraguan writer Arquímedes González [es], “the first Central American writer (to my knowledge) who decides to jump to self-editing using social networks, very much in tune with modern times,” she writes. The Kindle versions of González's novels can be purchased for 0.99 US...
Iran: Nationalist feelings only for election time
Iranian state-run broadcasters are persuading people to vote in coming parliamentary election by Friday, 2 March. They also playback some nationalist songs and hymns. Spidermard, an Iranian user, tweets [fa]: ‘Only by election time the state realizes that the country is called Iran. The other times it is Islamic Republic’.
Iran: ‘Wish we had a couple of candidates’
Iranian parliamentary election would be held by Friday, 2 March. Reformists and protestors have boycotted the election due to crackdown in last 3 years. Arezoo criticizes reformists and protestors and tweets [fa]: ‘We did not manage to do scheduling and negotiations so we could have a couple of candidates to...
Iran: ‘My candidate is still in prison’
Iranian parliamentary national election would be held by Friday, 2 March, but it seems there is a widespread boycott at least among most of the online Iranian users. Mamad tweets [fa]: ‘Someone came to hand me a pamphlet for a candidate. I told him that I have voted for someone...
Russia: The Early Days of Government Transparency
Sven Hultberg Carlsson talks with Ivan Pavlov, head of the Freedom of Information Foundation (FIF), about corruption, the elections and other issues pertaining to Russia's Freedom of Information Act.
Azerbaijan: Massive protests in Quba
Emin Milli's blog posts photos and video of massive protests in Quba, a regional center in Northeast Azerbaijan. The blog says the house of the governor of the region has been burned down and that military units are reportedly being dispatched to the city.
Hungary: Tax Administration Investigates Citizen Activists
Véleményvezér blog commented [hu] on the news of the most popular citizen movement's activists being checked by the National Tax and Customs Administration, interpreting it as a sign of fear by the ruling party Fidesz: “Two years after [winning] a two-thirds [majority], they're already catching flies, they're chasing civil activists.”...
Russia: Vladivostok's Pre-Election Puzzle
Everyone and everything has turned political on the eve of the March 4 presidential election in Russia. The city of Vladivostok has caught this pre-election fever as well. Masha Egupova reports.
