21 January 2013

Stories from 21 January 2013

Slovakia: Social Benefits for Roma

  21 January 2013

Lucia Kureková, in her blog analysis [sk], shows that in Slovakia the majority of those who receive the Benefit in Material Need (BMN) are not the “typical” Roma families with many children, but are single, of any ethnicity, and childless (62%), often young and unemployed. About two-thirds of the Slovak...

Venezuela – Colombia: Is There a Homeland?

  21 January 2013

Due to most recent news about the health condition of Venezuelan President, Hugo Chávez [es], who is currently in Havana, Cuba since December 11, 2012 for the cancer that is afflicting him, Juan Mosquera posts his personal reflection about the political landscape in Venezuela [es]: -Tell me, boy, what's the...

The Cultural Aspect of Wildlife Trade in China

  21 January 2013

Terroir from Beijing Cream criticizes professional photojournalist Patrick Brown's photographs series, Trading to Extinction for being over simplified in the explanation of wildlife trade in China as “naive” and “greed”: this is a way of life for some Chinese as well. It doesn’t mean it’s right – it just means...

Macedonians Ask State News Agency to Stop Manipulations

  21 January 2013

An online initiative against media manipulations [mk] perpetrated by the state-owned Macedonian Information Agency (MIA) asks citizens to express their dissatisfaction by sending e-mails to the agency. The action was spurred by the latest example of blatant spin, when a MIA correspondent distorted U.S. diplomat Philip Reeker‘s statement about the...

Indonesia Flood: Emergency Phone Numbers in Jakarta

  21 January 2013

Enda Nasution posted a list of phone numbers of emergency flood mitigation posts throughout Jakarta in Indonesia. Jakarta was heavily flooded last week and was placed on a state of emergency. The flooding has eased already but residents are still on high alert following the reported damage in the city floodgates.

Australia: Lactivists Demonstrate for Public Breastfeeding

  21 January 2013

Lactivists have taken to social media and the streets to protect the right to breastfeeding in public in Australia. Two demonstrations have taken place following the ejection of Liana Webster, a mother breastfeeding at a public pool on 12 January 2013.

Philippines: Anti-Cybercrime Law Denounced as ‘Cyber Martial Law’

  21 January 2013

More voices in the Philippines are questioning the Cybercrime Prevention Law as the oral arguments on the petitions against the law are being heard in the Supreme Court. The law was denounced by activists as a 'Cyber Martial Law' because of provisions that would limit free speech and expression in the internet sphere

Google CEO's Trip to North Korea, From Schmidt's Daughter's Blog

  21 January 2013

Google CEO Eric Schmidt visited North Korea last month and his daughter shared in her blog what the delegation saw in the hermit kingdom. Some of highlights from the blog: [describing the nation's top internet facility] Looks great, right? All this activity, all those monitors. […] One problem: No one was actually...

Symbolic State Burial in Kenya's #BallotRevolution Protests

  21 January 2013

On 16 January 2013, peaceful protests under the banner #BallotRevolution took place in capital city Nairobi. Protesters called on their fellow Kenyans to refrain from reelecting the current Members of Parliament, who increased their salaries and benefits just a few months before the country’s general election set for 4 March.

South Korea's Four Rivers Project is a Train-Wreck

  21 January 2013

In South Korea, the highly controversial Four Rivers Project has finally proven to be a train-wreck. Contrary to government claims, the latest audit report finds that the project has worsened water quality and hemorrhaged an astronomical amount of taxpayer money due to defective construction.