Stories from 6 March 2012
Russia: 11 Areas of Election-Related ICT Innovation
Сrisis can be a fruitful time for innovation. In Russia, post-election protests have given birth to dozens of new web platforms and mobile applications. Gregory Asmolov summarises some of the key areas of innovation.
Tanzania: Support Operation 365
Be part of Operation 365, a project idea from Marisa Ranieri who is taking her first post-graduate job as a high school teacher in Tanzania: “To defray some of the financial stress on my part, my hope is to have 365 different friends and family members donate $10 towards the...
Colombia: Celebrating Gabriel García Márquez's 85th Birthday on Facebook
Renowned Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez turns 85 today, March 6, 2012. Fundación Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano (“New Iberoamerican Journalism Foundation”, FNPI for its initials in Spanish, founded by García Márquez) has created a Facebook page dedicated to the author's 85th birthday, as the blog 233 Grados [es] reports. The Facebook...
Bolivia: Disabled Demonstrators End Weeks of Protests
Disabled Bolivians protesting to demand more welfare support have ended “weeks of protests after Bolivian president Evo Morales agreed to some of their main demands,” Erwin C. reports in The Latin Americanist.
Iran: ‘Crackdown on social network users’
Kheyzaran, an Iranian pro-government blogger based in Qom, says there has been a new wave of crackdown on Iranian users of social networks. He writes [fa] that in days before the parliamentary election, Iranian authorities have asked some users to ‘stop or reduce’ their online activities. In last 3 years and...
Russia: Sex, Women, Putin and Videos
Young women calling on co-enthusiasts to rip off their clothes for Putin last summer, seemed to have disappeared from the scene. As the election season draws to a close in Russia, it is worth taking a look back at how that movement evolved, and how it inspired other women - both, for and against Putin - to get creative.
Argentina: President Fernández's Speech Under Netizens’ Scrutiny
On March 1, Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner gave a speech in the Senate. Twitter functioned as a centralizer of comments and discussion during its broadcast, and Internet users posted their opinions there, focusing mostly on that which concerned them.
Puerto Rico: The History of the Artist Wrestling Federation
Mariángel Gonzales writes about the Puerto Rican art collective Hello Again [es] and their project of documenting the local artistic scene and producing the documentary “El Evento: La historia de AWF” (The Event: The History of AWF [Artist Wrestling Federation]).
Puerto Rico: Gender and Causality
Guillermo Rebollo Gil offers a legal analysis [es] on the media framing of the murder of women victims of intimate partner violence.
Puerto Rico: “Ilegal” death of Filiberto Ojeda Ríos
The Center for Investigative Journalism has posted the Civil Rights Commission's report [es] on the death of the pro-independence leader Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, killed by the Federal Investigation Bureau (FBI) on September 23, 2005.
Trinidad & Tobago: Political Performance
The Eternal Pantomime shares her take on the latest political bacchanal.
Cuba: Opposition Wants to Meet with Pope
“The recent months leading up to Pope Benedict’s visit to Cuba have been marked by state violence against peaceful dissidents”: Pedazos de la Isla reports that a former prisoner of conscience is calling on “all Cubans in and out of the island to pressure Pope Benedict XVI so that he...
Haiti: Demonstration over Shooting Death
Dying in Haiti blogs about a street demonstration in Cité Soleil, making a connection between how “violence and fear closes things down and people…can die easier from stupid deaths.”
Cuba: Communication Cut-Off
On the heels of a visit from the Archbishop of Havana, Uncommon Sense questions the motives behind “cut[ting] off all communication between [a political prisoner on hunger strike] and his family”.
Honduras: In Sabanagrande, Making Fun of Police is No Joke
Amidst numerous accusations of police corruption in Honduras, a cultural tradition held every year in the town of Sabanagrande has increased the tension between civilians and police. Blogger Fabricio Estrada, a poet from Sabanagrande, shares the story in his blog.
East Timor: Nation Loses a Treasured Political Elder
Online tributes pour in after the loss of one of East Timor's political elders, known affectionately as "Grandfather". Francisco "Avó" Xavier do Amaral was the declarer of independence in 1975, and returned to a free East Timor to serve in the Constituent Assembly and parliament. He was a three-time candidate for president.
Armenia: Eurovision propaganda fiasco
Unzipped comments on a call by Armenian singers to boycott this year's annual Eurovision Song Contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. Armenia and Azerbaijan remain deadlocked in a conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh and the call to boycott was ostensibly made in protest at the killing of an Armenian...
Madagascar: Protesting Endemic Poverty
Rivonala Razafison reports in Africa Review that “scores of Antananarivo residents wore black clothes to denounce poverty in the country”. He adds that Madagascar has experienced over 10 different forms of protests since early January. The latest protest is still ongoing and was initiated by army officers of the CAPSAT, the same...
Mozambique: Time lapse viral video of storm over Maputo
This video of a storm arriving over the city of Maputo has gone viral on Youtube, with over 450,000 views in just a few short weeks. Statistics show greatest numbers of views in Mozambique, South Africa, Japan and Portugal. Mozambique has been hit by a number of cyclones in recent...
Brazil: Pay TV Giant Campaigns Against New Act
Act 12.485/1, approved by Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff on September 2011, establishing new rules for pay television, has already created controversy among satellite television providers, subscribers and independent producers. Satellite TV provider, SKY, created a campaign to end the act, and several people in the industry have not been pleased with it.
Russia: Fake US Ambassador Twitter Account Wreaks Havoc During Vote
A fake Twitter account of the US Ambassador to Russia briefly disrupted US-Russia relations during the March 4 Russian presidential election. Donna Welles reports.
