Global Voices · Citizen media stories from 2009 July 29

29 July 2009

Daily archive · 10 posts

Stories from 29 July 2009

Belarus, Russia: Bloggers React to Graphic Chechen War Video

Written by Mikola Andrejeu · Eastern & Central Europe

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.

· 1

· read »

Kenya: Fibreglass Lions to go ‘Wild' in Nairobi

Written by Samuel Maina · Sub-Saharan Africa

As Kenya's lions continue to face persecution and the population continues to dwindle, a campaign to raise funds and awareness about the lions was launched on 17 June 2009 in Nairobi.

· read »

Taiwan: Racist cartoon causes controversy

Written by David Reid · East Asia

Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs published a booklet featuring two cartoon characters to inform the public about the proposed free trade agreement between Taiwan and China, commonly referred to as ECFA. The cartoons quickly attracted criticism as they were considered derogatory to certain ethnic groups.

· 11

· read »

Africa: New dates for African Bloggers Conference announced

Written by Ndesanjo Macha · Sub-Saharan Africa

New dates for African Bloggers Conference, Kelele ‘09, have been announced. Kelele ‘09 was scheduled for August 13th-16th, 2009. The conference, which will bring together African bloggers for the first time, will now take place from 29th October - 1st November 2009 in Nairobi, Kenya.

· read »

United Kingdom: Barcamp Transparency in Oxford

Written by Sylwia Presley · Western Europe

Around 50 people gathered for Barcamp Transparency at the Oxford University Club last Sunday to discuss issues of transparency in open government, social media and cyberactivism.

· 2

· read »

Philippines: Reactions to the 9th State of the Nation Address

Written by Karlo Mikhail Mongaya · East Asia

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo gave her 9th State of the Nation Address last Monday, July 27, 2009. This post is a sample of the varied responses to the speech in the Philippine blogosphere.

· read »

Japan: Parental child abduction

Written by Scilla Alecci · East Asia

Given the rise in cases where children born to a Japanese mother and a foreign father are abducted by the Japanese mothers and brought to Japan without the father's consent, the U.S., France, Canada and the U.K. have recently urged Japan to sign the Hague Convention.

· 21

· read »

Cuba: Interview with Blogger Lizabal Mónica

Written by Claudia Cadelo · Latin America

Cuban writer Lizabel Mónica has been blogging since 2007 and has been using her blogs to "build bridges between literature and national and international art, as well as to explore the relationship between art and life." Claudia Cadelo interviews her about her Project Desliz and her project to bring more artists online.

· 3

· read »

DRC: Rape Epidemic Fuels Fistula Cases

Written by Juhie Bhatia · D.R. of Congo

Ongoing fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to take its toll on women's health. One consequence is more cases of a health condition called fistula, which is being caused by brutal rapes.

· 7

· read »

Malaysia: Remembering film director Yasmin Ahmad

Written by Niki Cheong · East Asia

Popular Malaysian filmmaker Yasmin Ahmad passed away suddenly on July 25. The Malaysian blogosphere took to their keyboards to pay tribute to the icon.

· 3

· read »

Updates from 29 July 2009

Moldova

Updates and resources on the repeat election in Moldova - at Scraps of Moscow, here and here.

• Veronica Khokhlova

Peru

The 3rd National Festival of Oral Storytelling will take place throughout the month of August in Lima and Lambayeque, Peru. Elizabeth Lino Cornejo of Te Voy a Contar [es] writes about the importance of preserving these types of traditions.

• Eduardo Avila

Bhutan

“The news of seven boys in Chukha was shocking, it was only shocking until I knew they were washed away after hours of hanging on to life and before the eyes of their parents and police and the Dzongda,” informs Passu Diary stressing the need of a rescue service in Bhutan.

• Rezwan

Japan

Tobias Harris from observing Japan comments on Democratic party's 2009 general election manifesto. The manifesto covers five major areas: (1) cutting waste (essentially political and administrative reform); (2) child care and education; (3) pensions and health care; (4) regionalization; and (5) employment and the economy.Part I and Part II.

• Oiwan Lam

Bangladesh

Unheard Voice comments on the death of a number of children in Bangladesh due to Diethylene glycol (DEG) poisoning after intake of a fever drug and the inaction of the authorities: “Our governments, under media pressure and public outcry, successively have bothered to resort to short term damage control and hide the issue from public eye.”

• Rezwan

Egypt

CarLog is a new online service for trading cars in Egypt that enables car owners to share photos, videos, and reviews of their vehicles on Facebook.

• Mohamed ElGohary

Bermuda

“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.

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Bermuda

Repeating Islands reports that Britain's Queen Elizabeth II “skipped yesterday’s celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the settlement of Britain’s oldest colony after a row with the island’s pro-independence leader”, adding that the island's Premier was also noticeably absent.

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Haiti

“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.

• Janine Mendes-Franco