Stories from 18 October 2013
Declaration on the Future of Internet Cooperation
Representatives of the organizations that manage the technical infrastructure of the Internet meeting in Montevideo, Uruguay, have released a Declaration on the future of Internet cooperation [es], in which they analyze the problems currently affecting the future of the Internet. Among other things, they mention the importance of globally consistent...
Property Bubble In Kathmandu
Chandan Sapkota reports that the rise in the cost of housing in Kathmandu has made them beyond the reach of most of the Nepalese people. Easy bank credits to developers and prospective buyers have possibly triggered the bubble.
Japan: OpenStreetMap Aggregates Typhoon Info
OpenStreetMap users volunteered their time to create a crisis map of Izu Oshima island [ja], a small island to the south of Tokyo where more than a dozen of people were killed by mudslides triggered by this week's deadly Typhoon Wipha. The red dots on the map represent reports submitted by users, which give...
Activists Demand Release of Angola's Youngest Political Prisoner
It has been more than a month since a 17-year-old activist from Angola was detained after allegedly having ordered the print of 20 t-shirts saying “[President] José Eduardo out! Disgusting dictator”. Manuel Chivonde Baptista ‘Nito Alves’ was jailed on September 12, 2013, and is currently at Luanda central prison, after a few days of solitary...
GV Face: Malala's Pakistan
This week we talk about why Pakistan feels so conflicted about Nobel Peace Prize nominee Malala and the role social media has played in spreading her fame and discredit.
#1book140: Twitter Book Chat on International Poetry
Join readers of The Atlantic and Global Voices for a live Twitter chat with Susan Harris, editor of The Ecco Anthology of International Poetry.
Chile: Police Special Forces Evict Mapuche Community From Contested Lands
A self-denominated “autonomous” indigenous community, Temucuicui has occupied what they consider to be ancestral lands for over two years, resisting several eviction attempts.
PHOTOS: Hundreds Dead, Historic Churches Destroyed in Philippine Quake
"Our churches may have been destroyed but not our faith" became a popular online message in the Philippines after a strong earthquake hit the central part of the country
Controversial Candidates, Silly Season in Trinidad & Tobago
The by-election for the St. Joseph parliamentary seat will be held in early November - but the candidates are as controversial as the former representative.
#OccupyMyself: Confessions Of A Social Media Deserter
She misses the interactions, but values even more the time and mental space she's regained. Will social media "deserter" Paula Góes ever return to Facebook and Twitter?
China's Maple Bridge Experience and Local Governance
Qian Gang looks into the political implications of recent state propaganda of “Fengqiao experience” (or Maple Bridge Experience) which took place in Zhejiang province during the Mao's era in early 1960s as a local governance model under the new China leadership.
South Africa's Ruling Party #ProudlyBroughtByANC Campaign Flops
The campaign was a response to a billboard erected by the opposition poking fun at the electronic tolling system. The billboard reads: “E-tolls. Proudly brought to you by the ANC.”
China: School Forces Students To Participate in Forced Demolition
Joe from ChinaSMACK translated a news story about a middle school in Guiyang city, Guizhou province, that forced students to wear SWAT police uniforms and participate in the demolition of illegal structures. In China, demolition armies are as notorious as Chengguan on account of their violent actions against rural villagers who...
