30 July 2012

Stories from 30 July 2012

Pakistan: The business Of Ramadan

  30 July 2012

Samra Muslim at Pak Tea House writes that the month of Ramadan is not important for religious reasons but it is the month of business all around creating a lot of commotion in the economy of Pakistan.

Guatemala: Microsoft and the University of San Carlos

  30 July 2012

Blogger Josue Ortega [es] attended a university event which invited students to develop a project to help communities with very little access to technology. However, students were told to develop the project using only Microsoft technology. One of Ortega's friends inquired about using open licenses, but the idea was immediately...

Russia: Nepofigism, Free Crowdsourced Legal Consultation

The Russian online group "Nepofigism" offers a free legal consulting service. The project's creators designate no particular direction for the consulting. Their aim is to offer real help to people with any type of problem. The site is a space for professionals and ordinary Internet users with various legal and everyday problems.

‘Small’ Georgia Takes on ‘Big’ Russia with New Media

Georgia uses blogging and new media to project soft power in Russia. Even though most Georgians blog in Georgian, there is a sizable contingent of Russian speaking Georgians on Russia's most popular blogging platform LiveJournal. Georgia's government also follows a strategy of co-opting the Russian public through the smart use of new media.

Taiwan: Threat of Media Monopoly and Power Abuse

  30 July 2012

Taiwanese civil society is worried that the acquisition of cable TV services by Want Want China Times would result in political censorship, in particular on mainland China news. A recent staged scandal against a scholar leading the campaign against the acquisition has shown the public the devastating effect of media monopoly and abusive use of media power.

Iran: Police is censoring ‘in affiliation with Facebook’

  30 July 2012

Commander in chief of Iran cyber police insists that the authorities would prosecute those who ‘promote immorality and prostitution’ in social network websites. Kamal Hadianfar claims [fa] that Iranian police would ‘purify’ this social network ‘with collaboration of Facebook managers’. Major social networking services including Facebook and Twitter are blocked in Iran.

Mauritania: Diplomat Sets Himself Alight

A few minutes before Iftar, Hassan Ould Abba, a Mauritanian diplomat who used to work as an advisor at the Mauritanian Embassy in Kuwait, set himself alight in the district of Ksar, North of the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott. An ambulance rushed to rescue him, but he passed away upon arrival at hospital. Ahmed Ould Jedou summarizes online reactions.

Brazil: Concerns Over Public Health in Januária

Rising Voices  30 July 2012

Participants of the citizen journalism project Amigos de Januária, Rising Voices grantee of 2011, are carrying on the mission to monitor the local government of Januária, in Brazil. The latest posts on their blog refer to concerns over health and public safety.

Bahrain: ‘Boycott the Olympics’

Many Bahrainis are calling for the Olympics to be boycotted. First, a royal, who is allegedly personally involved in the torture of athletes, is attending the games. Second, most of the Bahraini squad is made up of African athletes.

Argentina: Evita's Face on New Banknote

  30 July 2012

In honor of the 60th anniversary of the death of Eva Duarte de Perón (Evita), President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner unveiled a new banknote with Evita's image, replacing Julio Roca on $100 bills. On social networks, some defend the change and others criticize it.