· July, 2009

Stories about Digital Activism from July, 2009

Cuba: Political Prisoners

  31 July 2009

Cuban diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense reports that while one former political prisoner has started a blog, another Cuban human rights activist “faces up to 8 years in prison if convicted of trumped-up charges of assault and receiving stolen property.”

Barbados: Corruption Legislation Needed

  31 July 2009

“It doesn’t matter how many tens of millions of dollars are missing at the end of a major project, no one ever goes to jail”: Barbados Free Press suggests that part of the problem is that “Barbados lacks the laws and the codified standards necessary to prosecute public officials for...

Jamaica: Capturing Pellew

  31 July 2009

Concerned about plans by private owners to develop Pellew Island, Snailwriter has a plan: “The Tainos ‘owned’ Jamaica until the men in Columbus’s ships took it…I figure I have as much right to do some capturing as anyone. So I’m gonna invade Pellew Island…I know my invasion will be symbolic...

Russia: Activists Appeal To Iranian Opposition

On July 26, LJ user dobrokhotov wrote (RUS) about a rally in front of the Iranian embassy in Moscow, organized by the Russian democratic youth movement “We” in support of Iran's opposition: “[…] The main thing is we'd like the Iranian opposition to go on chanting ‘margbar putin’ – but,...

Pakistan: Citizen Media Vs. Print Media

  30 July 2009

Hina Safdar at Chowrangi informs of a recent dispute between a blog vs. some journalists. The pkpolitics.com blog exposed some journalists on various corruption issues and some of them responded by publishing articles in a Pakistan daily.

Haiti: Secret Funeral

  30 July 2009

Haitian blogger Wadner Pierre reports that Kenel Pascal, “who appears to have been gunned down by UN occupation troops”, was given a secret funeral “because the priest and family were fearful of UN and Haitian government reprisals” and goes on to write another post examining the circumstances surrounding the death...

Belarus, Russia: Bloggers React to Graphic Chechen War Video

On July 3, Belarusian blogger Tatsiana Elavaya posted a provocative video showing the assassination of captive Russian soldiers by Chechen guerrillas during the 1999 war in Chechnya. The video had been available elsewhere before, but when Tatsiana posted it on her blog, the reaction of the Cyrillic blogosphere was unprecedented.

Bermuda, Haiti: Standing Up

  29 July 2009

“In the 1980s Bermudians participated in the global anti-Apartheid anti-imperialist movement”: Catch a fire thinks “it is time that our new generation continue this tradition and pick up the mantle of fighting injustices” such the ones in Haiti.

Haiti: What Happened to Pierre-Antoine?

  29 July 2009

“July 28 marks the 94th anniversary of the US occupation of Haiti…August 12th will mark the second anniversary of the disappearance of Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine”: The Haitian Blogger wonders what has happened to this leading human rights activist.

Russia: “Russian Software” Project

Profy writes about the Russian Software project, whose “idea is to provide high-quality alternatives to proprietary international software titles and to make sure that these alternatives will also be much less expensive than the Western products.”

Trinidad & Tobago: Mother Earth

  28 July 2009

“It’s not how many tractors you have or how much oil you drill or how many smelters you build. But the humanity and the humility of what you do with your knowledge and your resources”: Trinidadian blogger Attillah Springer fears that we will pay for the “gross and sloppy mishandling...

Jamaica: Dancehall & Child Abuse

  28 July 2009

As the Jamaican government introduces a child pornography bill, Jamaica Salt makes it clear that the blame for the rise in child abuse on the island cannot be laid squarely at the door of dancehall music.

Cuba: Light & Shadow

  27 July 2009

“This was the speech of the ‘shadow’ because light is something the authoritarians cannot tame…Raúl Castro is right: we can no longer see him, because the twilight he represents lacks…any kind of luminosity”: Cuba's Generation Y blogs about her impressions of this year's July 26th speech.