27 September 2012

Stories from 27 September 2012

Puerto Rico: Plagiarism Revealed Through the Net

Janet Marilyn Hernández, a Venezuelan blogger and public relations professional, discovered that her thesis was plagiarized in a newspaper article and blog post written by professor Ivan Ríos of the University of Puerto Rico. Using email, posts, Twitter and Facebook she brought the situation to the attention of the University and the mainstream press. The professor has since resigned.

27 September 2012

The Slap that Changed China's History

On September 24, the former police chief of Chongqing, Wang Lijun, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on four charges: bending the law for personal interest, defection, abuse of power and corruption. He is at the center of China's biggest political scandal in recent memory, the murder of a British businessman by the wife of Chongqing Communist Party high flier Bo Xilai.

27 September 2012

Georgia: A Caucasian Abu Ghraib

Eva Anderson, a Senior Analyst with Transparency International, examines the recent prison abuse video scandal in Georgia as the country prepares for crucial 1 October Parliamentary Elections. The blog post...

27 September 2012

Mexico: Writing from Jail

Enrique Aranda Ochoa writes literature from jail. Convicted of kidnapping in 1997 with a sentence of 50 years in prison, Enrique has used his time in jail to write six novels and earn various literature awards. His latest book, available for purchase in an electronic format, focuses on the mysteries of the Mayans.

27 September 2012

Chad: Challenges to Freedom of Expression as Social Protests Grow

The recent arrests in Chad of three union officers and the editor of an independent newspaper are symptomatic of a disintegration of freedom of expression in the country. These arrests have come after protest movements against the impoverishment of Chad’s population and the privatization of the country’s resources.

27 September 2012

Jamaica: Storm Saulter on Film & New Media in the Caribbean

The 2012 Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival continues this week and one of the most high-profile regional attendees is Storm Saulter, the Jamaican director whose first feature film, Better Mus’ Come, received critical acclaim upon its release in late 2010. In this post, he talks about his new offering, filmmaking in the Caribbean and how new media is helping to change the landscape.

27 September 2012

Peru: Activists Begin “Civic Crusade” in Defense of the Nanay River

In our first post in this tree-part series we briefly introduced some water-related issues in Iquitos, and later presented the controversy generated by the transnational Conoco Phillips and their exploration and search for hydrocarbons in the Nanay River basin. In this post we continue addressing the issue and discuss how organizations like the Water Committee are fighting this problem.

27 September 2012

China: Intraparty Democracy

Qian Gang from China Media Project reviewed the discussion and development of Intra-party democracy within the Chinese Communist Party through the so-called “open nomination and direct election” in the election...

27 September 2012

Guatemala: Profiting from Catastrophes

Kevin from the Guatemala Solidarity Network blog points readers to an article by Danilo Valladares published in Inter Press Service about “‘big disaster business’ – profiting from catastrophes.” In a...

27 September 2012

Iran: Eight Years of Deception

International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has released a short video “demonstrating and highlighting systematic cover-ups accompanying the marked rise in human rights violations over the eight years of...

27 September 2012

A Ghanain App at TechCrunch Disrupt

Erik writes about a Ghanaian tech team that pitched at TechCrunch Disrupt event: Saya is an app for texting. That mixes SMS, Facebook chat and hyperlocal findability to get in...

27 September 2012

Will China Fall Prey to the ‘Skyscraper Curse'?

By 2022, the number of skyscrapers in China will reach 1,318 compared to 563 in the United States. But according to one theory, the world's tallest buildings often rise on the eve of economic downturns...

27 September 2012

Kenya: Safari 7s Rugby Tournament Excites Fans

One of the biggest sporting events in East Africa came alive between 21-23 September, 2012, in Kenya's capital city, Nairobi - the Safari Sevens, a rugby seven-a-side tournament which started in 1995 but has grown into a fixture in the Kenyan sporting calendar.

27 September 2012

Uruguay: Legislators Move Forward Bill to Depenalize Abortion

After 14 hours of intense debate, Uruguay’s Chamber of Deputies voted 50 to 49 in favor of depenalizing abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Twitter was abuzz during the whole day as Uruguayans shared their opinions on abortion and the bill under debate.

27 September 2012