Stories about Weblog from January, 2010
Puerto Rico: Bloggers discuss Roe v. Wade
The 37th anniversary of the landmark United States Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade (January 22, 1973) spurred bloggers in Puerto Rico to express their opinions about a ruling that still sparks controversy. The decision made abortion legal in the United States, and it was extended to Puerto Rico due to the Island's political relationship with the US.
Iran: Two Bloggers in Danger of Death
Two Iranian bloggers, who are also human rights defendants, are behind bars under serious charges. Mehrdad Rahimi and Kouhyar Goudarzi have been accused of wanting to wage “a war against God,” and charged as being “Mohareb” (enemies of God). Their charges are similar to those against the two men who were executed this week in Tehran.
Global Voices in Haiti: Talking to Volunteer Régine Zamor
Alice Backer, on assignment for Global Voices in Port-au-Prince, interviews Régine Zamor, a Haitian-American who travelled to Haiti after the 12 January earthquake and has helped dozens of people as an independent volunteer. "Many Haitians and others willing to help took matters into their own hands during the first-response period."
Global Voices in Haiti: On Reconstruction
With scattered clean-up efforts under way in Haiti, debates have begun about how best to rebuild houses and other structures destroyed in the 12 January earthquake. Georgia Popplewell reports from Port-au-Prince on "the critical matter of shelter for those who have lost their homes".
Haiti: Bloggers’ Reactions to Regional Interventions
For more than two weeks, the governance of Haiti after the earthquake has been seriously questioned by Haitian bloggers. They are now discussing the reactions in the neighboring countries and islands of the Caribbean. Here is a review of the French-speaking posts dealing with this question.
Haiti: Wired Money May Help Rebuild Before Aid
With phone lines being restored in Haiti, money sent from families abroad “by wire” is again arriving, and helping reconstruction even where international aid has not arrived. Remittances from family members living abroad represented at least thirty percent of Haiti's Gross National Product before the January 12 earthquake.
Global Voices in Haiti: Litmus Test
Georgia Popplewell, on the ground in post-earthquake Haiti, looks into reports of "tear gas" being used at a food distribution point, and visits the Carrefour area of Port-au-Prince. The second in a series of special reports.
Global Voices in Haiti: Arriving in Port-au-Prince
Georgia Popplewell, a member of the two-person Global Voices team on the ground in post-earthquake Haiti, files her first report from Port-au-Prince. "Two of Pétionville's squares have been transformed into teeming tent cities. The area just east of the Champs de Mars is a long corridor of rubble, not a building left standing."
Global Voices in Haiti: Our Team on the Ground
In the aftermath of the 12 January earthquake in Haiti, Global Voices has sent a two-member team to Port-au-Prince to augment our coverage of recovery efforts, and stimulate local participation in citizen media. Here are details of the objectives Georgia Popplewell and Alice Backer are working towards.
Iran: Green Tune to Support Protest Movement
A ring tone for a song which motivated young Iranians to go to the front and fight during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s is making the rounds again in solidarity with the opposition. Hamid Tehrani reviews the reactions of bloggers to the 'Ey Iran' song.
Haiti: The Politics of Recovery
The last thing that Haiti needs as it faces the monumental task of recovering from the earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince and its environs on January 12 is a lack of good governance. Yet, some members of the Haitian blogosphere are bracing themselves for more of the same when it comes to the 2010 earthquake recovery effort.
Malawi's President to formally declare new love on Valentine's Day
Malawians are digesting news that the country's president Dr Bingu wa Mutharika will engage his former tourism minister Callister Chimombo on Valenetine's Day 14 February. A couple of bloggers have wished the president well in his new found love following the death of his wife Ethel three years ago.
Bangladesh: A Trial Ends After 34 Years – Closure At Last?
Bangladesh authorities executed five ex-army officers for their role in the 1975 assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman - the country's independence leader and its first President. Bloggers share their reactions on the long awaited trial and the method of punishment.
Uruguay: President-Elect Mujica Tackles Botnia Issue Before Taking Office
Uruguayan president-elect Mujica is trying to negotiate a deal to end the blockade of the bridge between Argentina and Uruguay, which has been blocked over a pulp mill plant that environmentalists and local residents say cause contamination.
China: Threatened by American Internet censorship
Reactions from Chinese programmers to SourceForge.net's decision to follow American law and block users from several countries include suggestions for how to work around American censorship of the global Internet.
Trinidad & Tobago: Giving Up the Post?
Despite the devastation taking place in other parts of the region, in Trinidad and Tobago it appears to be politics as usual. On the heels of news that party voting for leadership of the opposition United National Congress had gone in resounding favour of Kamla Persad-Bissessar, former party leader (and founder) Basdeo Panday reacted by refusing to admit defeat. Bloggers discuss the impasse...
Morocco: A Charter for the Environment
The Moroccan government launched an ambitious project on environment involving a series of regional meetings, workshops and conferences that sparked a national debate that aims at establishing a Charter for the environment. Bloggers have been commenting on the development.
Egypt: The Right to Speak Up
Egyptian bloggers and activists held a conference on January 22 in defense of their right to speak up after more than 20 Egyptian bloggers were arrested when their train arrived in the village of Naga Hammady where the Coptic massacre took place. Marwa Rakha sums up their reactions to their detention in this post.
Haiti: Security vs. Relief?
More than two weeks after the 12 January earthquake in Haiti, and despite an international outpouring of aid, thousands of affected Haitians in and around Port-au-Prince have received little or no relief assistance. Some Haitians and others on the ground suggest that exaggerated concerns about security and violence may be hindering relief efforts.
Japan: In Choosing a Job (or Company)
With limited work experience, how does one make the decision on which company to work for, straight out of university? The question carries weight when you take in the fact that there's a good chance that some of these students might work for that company until they retirement.
Video: Call for Aid in the Peruvian South due to Flooding
The state of emergency the city of Cusco and surrounding areas has moved many locals to make videos and upload them to the web, trying to get mass media to pay attention to the drama lived by villagers throughout the area who are now homeless, isolated and without food, water or electricity.
