9 July 2012

Stories from 9 July 2012

Russia: Caucasus Stereotypes in Film

Global Chaos comments on a recent video report by Radio Free Europe examining changing stereotypes of the Caucasus in Russian cinema. The blog asks whether the caricatures often adopted for public diplomacy purposes are counterproductive or not.

Colombia: ‘Higgsteria’ in Medellín

  9 July 2012

After the announcement by CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) last week about the search of the Higgs’ boson, Helena Cortés writes [es] about a conference held at the Medellín Planetarium with local scientists explaining the news, and compiles tweets with “accurate and inaccurate comments” about the ‘Higgsteria’.

Puerto Rico: Bilingual Schools Revive Debate on Language

  9 July 2012

The government of Puerto Rico wants to gradually replace Spanish with English as the official language of education in the country's public schools. The measure has provoked strong reactions from supporters as well as critics, reviving the old debate on language and culture in Puerto Rico.

Guyana: Being Black

  9 July 2012

Imran Khan addresses the issue of racism in Guyana, saying: “[It] has become a country in which one is privileged to be Indo-Guyanese and cursed to Afro-Guyanese. It is not just not ok to be black in Guyana, it is a condemnation to a life of less.”

Kazakhstan: A Bird Eye's View of Almaty

Photographer Maxim Zolotukhin believes that Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan and the nation's largest city, best reveals itself at a certain height. On Vox Populi, the photographer presents an aerial view of the city's landmarks captured during daytime and at night.

Kuwait: Stateless Community Continues Protesting

The stateless community in Kuwait (Bedoon) has been protesting for their rights to documents and citizenship since February 2011 and netizens are turning to social media to make their voices heard. Friday's protests spilled on to Saturday and Sunday as the call for rights turned into a confrontation with the police.

Egypt: Mapping Military Staff in Civilian Administrations

Egyptian independent activists started the mapping initiative el3askarmap [ar] aimed at following what happens to military personnel after their retirement from the army. Very often those senior officers land at influential positions within various civilian administrations. The map is actually a database: zooming in provides details on every person and...

Foreign Migrant Workers in China

  9 July 2012

French photographer Benoit Cezard has taken a series of photos in which Caucasians pose as migrant workers, such as such as street vendors and sanitation workers in China. Jing Gao from Ministry of Tofu translated the story and netizens’ reaction on the photo presentation.

Cyprus: Official Opening Ceremony of EU Presidency

  9 July 2012

On July 1, 2012, Twitter users commented on the official opening ceremony of the Cyprus Presidency of the EU Council under the hashtag #cy2012eu. Meanwhile, Peter Spiegel tweeted a photo of a Turkish Cypriot protest poster reading “EU what are you doing ab[ou]t Turkish Cypriots?”. @EUCouncilPress offers a link to...

China: Fist-fight Dating

  9 July 2012

The argument between two prominent microbloggers, Wu Fatian, a male pro communist party academic and Zhou Yan, a female liberal journalist had ended up in a fist-fight dating in a park in Beijing, attracting many to attend, including artist activist Ai Weiwei. The female has won, then police and web...