Stories from 8 March 2013
Argentines Analyze Chávez’s Political Legacy
While Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner travels to Venezuela to give her final goodbye to Hugo Chavez, Argentine bloggers analyze the political legacy of the Venezuelan president.
Green Patrol Cleans Up Slovakia
The area near the main train station in Bratislava doesn't look too neat [sk]. Nor do other neighborhoods. Some people refuse to accept it passively, however. Next month, the Green Patrol (Zelená hliadka; sk) initiative, led by Matúš Čupka, will celebrate its second anniversary. Through targeted cleaning actions, Green Patrol...
Dima Al Khatib Remembers Hugo Chavez
Some liked him, others hated him, but the late Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez held a special place in the heart of Arab journalist Dima Al Khatib. As Al Jazeera's Latin America bureau chief, the Syrian-born Palestinian journalist developed a close relationship with Chavez during her 10-year stay in Caracas. Al Khatib, who is now teaching in Dubai, reveals more about this bond in a series of tweets following his death on Tuesday.
French Magazine's 50 People Shaping Japan
Interest for Japan is at its peak among readers in France [fr] despite the Asian nation's gloomy economic outlook. Therefore, French Magazine ZoomJapan [fr] has featured 50 Japanese people that are transforming the archipelago; from architect Kyohei Sakaguchi―who established what he calls “independent government”―, to dancers, activists, business entrepreneurs, and journalists. The compilation...
Palestine/Syria: A Tale of Two Women
Palestinian blogger Budoor Hassan shares the story of two women in this blog post – Nariman Tamimi in Nabi Saleh, a tiny village north west of Ramallah in the West Bank and Maha Ghrer in Bustan Al-Qasr, a neighbourhood in Aleppo, Syria.
Breaking All-Male, Offline Trend, Cambodia's First Female Lawmaker Blogs
Meet Mu Sochua, the first woman ever to be elected in Cambodia's Parliament and one of the very few politicians in Cambodia who actively use social media.
Japan: Where Does My Money Go?
A group of coders and concerned citizens have launched a Where Does My Money Go? [ja] website to explore tax spending in the city of Yokohama. With cooperation from the city, volunteers participated in a hackathon to brainstorm how to creatively showcase the city's tax spending.
Global Voices is Awesomely Gender-Balanced
The Guardian Data Blog shares research by J. Nathan Matias, Irene Ros and Adam Hyland for their Open Gender Tracker that shows Global Voices women have written half of all stories, almost no matter how you slice the data.
Crowdmapping Media Layoffs in Greece
Journalist Ioanna Iliadi has created a crowdmap to monitor press layoffs in Greece, mounting in numbers and frequency, as an already brewing media crisis has been compounded by the financial crisis.
Coffee Growers’ Strike: The Crisis Behind Colombian Coffee
A group of Colombian coffee producers have been on strike since February 25, 2013. Cati Restrepo offers an analysis of the situation.
Omar Banuchi Finds His Niche in the Puerto Rican Web (Part II)
Omar Banuchi, a quiet, introverted boy that didn't leave the family appartment much, could easily connect with the stories of superheros capabale of supporting the weight of the world on their shoulders and achieving great super-human deeds. Here we see the second interview with the Puerto Rican digital artist.
Tips On Writing About Demographics
How many people? Demographics Revealed, a new blog of the Population Reference Bureau and the Population Association of America offers advice on how to write about demographics.
Beauty & the Beast? “Ethnic” Pageant Winner Enrages Russian Nationalists
When top Russian blogger Rustem Adagamov posted the news of Abdrazakova's victory in the 2013 Miss Russia pageant on his blog, along with some her photographs, his post attracted comments like "Are there still Russian girls in the Russian Federation?"
Haitian Artist's “Soliloquy of Chaos”
Haitian-American painter Sophia Domeville is starting to make waves in the art world. Last year the abstract impressionist (who earned a B.F.A. from the College of New Rochelle) held her first solo exhibition, “Soliloquy of Chaos.” Right now Domeville is one of thirty artists selected to exhibit along side Janet Taylor Pickett for Art in the Atrium's “Generation Next”. (The exhibit closes on March 8th.) In addition to...
Chinese Parliament's First Spokeswoman Charms Media, But Web Unconvinced
Chinese parliament's first spokeswoman Fu Ying charmed mainland media in her debut news conference, but Web users reading between the lines of her remarks suspected that Fu, despite breaking the role's traditional gender boundaries, is hawking the same politics as usual.
Jamaica, Barbados: Class & Justice
When I said let’s focus on substance rather than style or appearance it hadn’t yet occurred to me that in this case style IS the substance or a substantial part of what’s at stake. Active Voice blogs about a landmark case involving a Jamaican who was subjected to a cavity...
