Stories from 5 June 2012
Slovakia: SOZA Strikes Again
One year after having been defeated by public opinion, the Slovak Performing and Mechanical Rights Society (SOZA), which was asking fees for embedded videos on web pages, strikes again. Now SOZA wants fees for St. Nicholaus and Mother's Day performances, during which children recite nursery rhymes and sing folk songs...
Singapore: Netizens Question Newspaper's ‘Charity’ Drive
A Singapore newspaper recently announced that it would be auctioning a Volkswagen car for charity. However, Singaporeans were enraged to find that the money raised would not go directly towards low-income families, but towards sponsoring 1-year subscriptions of the newspaper for them instead.
India: Renewing The Solar Pledge On World Environment Day
On World Environment Day, India, amidst growing concerns of energy security and climate change, renews its pledge to harness solar power in search of cleaner, renewable energy.
Kazakhstan: Children Behind Bars with their Mothers
Vox Populi presents a photo essay [ru] on the lives of children who serve time with their mothers at a women's prison in southwestern Kazakhstan.
Colombia: The Brutal Rape and Murder of Rosa Elvira Cely
Colombian netizens were moved and outraged when they found out about the brutal rape and murder of 35-year-old Rosa Elvira Cely. Hundreds of people attended a demonstration to demand justice, using hashtags like #RosaElviraCely and #NiUnaMás ("not one more").
Russia: Returning to a State Monopoly on Violence?
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, both the mafia and private and military security companies stepped in to supplement domestic Russian law enforcement. One private security company owned by opposition politicians was recently shut down, leading some to speculate on political motivations.
Peru: March for Peace and the Strike in Cajamarca
After learning about the government’s report for the Environmental Impact Assessment of the Conja mining project in Cajamarca, and the presidential decision that the Conga project is viable, though with better environmental conditions, Cajamarcan leaders have agreed to give more time to the Executive to declare the impossibility of the Conga mining project; otherwise, they will go on an indefinite regional strike.
Greece: Community Project for “Authentic Natural Food”
“Hippocrates believed food was the human's medicine. Today, food is the reason that people need medicine”. That's what Radiki (‘Chicory’ in Greek) states, a small community project in Raches village [el] in Messenia, Peloponnese. In their website, they argue that people should return to authentic food forms, as they have become too...
Ethiopia: The Role of Journalists Under Dictatorships
A video showing Ethiopian Prime Minster Meles Zenawi being heckled at the 2012 G8 Food Security Symposium has sparked a debate about the role of journalists in authoritarian regimes. Ethiopian activist and journalist Abebe Gellaw is seen in the video shouting “Freedom, Freedom, Meles Zenawi is a dictator, you are committing crime against humanity.”
How Journalists Put Sources in Danger with Poor Digital Skills
On Columbia Journalism Review, Matthieu Aikins speaks with media organizations and foreign correspondents who seem to have scant knowledge or appreciation for the importance of digital encryption when reporting from free speech danger zones in the Middle East.
Russia: Oppositionists Ponder Putin's Legacy
With Moscow's next anti-government mass rally scheduled for 'Russia Day' on June 12, 2012, the protest movement reflects on May's 'Million Man March,' which ended in violent clashes between demonstrators and police. Who was to blame, and what are the prospects for Putin in his third presidential term? Masha Egupova reports.
