Stories from 14 October 2012
Pakistan: Who Are The Taliban?
Taimoor Mughal at Teeth Maestro provides a holistic view about the categories of Talibans in Pakistan.
Bhutan: The Art of Politics
Tshering Tobgay, a leader of opposition party, explains the art of politics in Bhutan.
India: Lending Voice to Social Campaigns Through Street Plays
Aatish is a Delhi-based independent, youth-led theatre group that aims to lend a voice to issues that are often marginalized, using street plays and workshops.
Greece: Theater Critic Assaulted by Neo-Nazi and Religious Protesters
Religious groups and neo-nazis protested against gay-themed play Corpus Christi in Athens on 11 October, 2012. Deeming it blasphemous, they assaulted a theater critic and forced the cancellation of the performance. Netizens reacted in shocked outrage, demanding an end to the unchecked spiral of violence perpetrated by neo-nazis in recent months.
Saudi Arabia: Women2Drive Steps Up Tone; Blames Government Policies
Women2Drive, later renamed Right2Dignity, has been campaigning for lifting the ban on women's right to drive by calling for days in which women get behind the wheel and supporting lawsuits against the Interior Ministry for refusing to grant women driving licenses. Now they are blaming the government for the ban, saying that if the Saudi monarchy wanted to lift it, it would have done so earlier.
Zambia: YouTube Documentary on Negative Impact of Copper Mining
A documentary titled “Zambia: Good Copper, Bad Copper” about Zambian copper mining and its negative impact on society has emerged on YouTube and has so far attracted over 6,000 hits. After watching the documentary, one YouTube user wrote, "Cry our beloved country. Why should we remain poor when a coveted product is plenty and mined at the expense of the locals' health."
Global Community: “We Should Not Pay”
On October 13, the initiative #globalnoise, supported by different activist movements, called for a global "pots and pans" protest. The website #globalnoise coordinated the initiatives of movements and individuals.
Serbia: Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2012
Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2012 took place in Belgrade on October 13–14, 2012, and is the first Wikimedia CEE Meeting for Central and Eastern Europe. The primary goal of the event is to intensify cooperation among the Wiki communities, Wikimedia chapters, and other interested groups from Central and Eastern Europe. The...
China: Drinking Deer Blood
Some Chinese believe that drinking deer blood can prolong life. ChinaSMACK translated a local report about the cruel business deer farm in China. [Warning: graphic]
China: Mo Yan Speaks Out For Jailed Dissident And Fellow Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo
He [Mo Yan] can afford to get sick now — or, to extend the metaphor, at least wear less cumbersome clothing in this frosty and pathogen-plagued environment. Perhaps that’s the best thing the Nobel Committee did by awarding this year’s literature prize to a non-dissident, someone whom Peter Englund of...
Sierra Leone: Is Ami Musa the Saddest Pinterest Page in the World?
One blog, Lovelyish, considers a Pinterest campaign about a 13-year-old girl Ami Musa from Sierra Leone by UNICEF UK to raise awareness about children living in poverty in Africa "the saddest Pinterest page in the world." Another blogger, Tom Murphy, argues that Pinterest represents a bit of a brave new world for NGOs to reach newer audiences.
Japan: “Global Noise” Against the IMF
In Japan, a series of actions to protest against the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings are being called for by Global Noise Tokyo and @OccupyTokyoJp on October 13, 2012. More about Global Noise around the world can be found here.
Greece: Police Post Photos of Youth Detained at General Strike
Greek police preemptively arrested and beat young people intending to join massive anti-austerity demonstrations on September 26, 2012. When they also published their photos and identities online, furious reactions ensued from Greek netizens.
