Global Voices · Citizen media stories from 2009 July 31

31 July 2009

Daily archive · 7 posts

Stories from 31 July 2009

Russia: Riot Police Break Up Opposition Rally

Written by Veronica Khokhlova · Eastern & Central Europe

Some 100 protesters gathered for an unsanctioned opposition rally in central Moscow on Friday. At 6 PM, hundreds of riot police broke up the rally, detaining 47 people, some of whom were said to be journalists and passerby.

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Put it On: Global Online Contest for Filmmakers

Written by Juliana Rincón Parra · Arts & Culture, Film

Put it On is awarding a scholarship to the New York Film Academy and a cash prize of $5000 USD in its contest for the best short and feature films from around the world. [This is a paid promotion].

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Pakistan: Handling The Return Of Refugees

Written by Sana Saleem · South Asia

The Government of Pakistan has finally announced a schedule for the Swat refugees outlining their return to home. Pakistani bloggers feel that a lot more needs to be done to ensure their safety and for their rehabilitation.

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Iran: Mourning the Victims of Protest

Written by Fred Petrossian · Middle East & North Africa

Thousands of Iranians gathered in Behesht Zahra cemetery in Tehran on Thursday to commemorate Neda Agha-Soltani and the victims of the protest movement. Dozens have been killed and hundreds jailed.

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Global: George W. Bush as Middle East Envoy?

Written by Jillian C. York · Middle East & North Africa, Oceania

An opinion piece written for Newsweek suggesting George W. Bush make an excellent complement to U.S. President Obama as Middle East envoy has made waves in the blogosphere.

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Gabon: Presidential Candidate Uses Social Media in Historic Election

Written by Jennifer Brea · Sub-Saharan Africa

As Gabon prepares for its first election since the death of Omar Bongo, one candidate, whose rivals who include the current prime minister, Jean Eyeghe Ndong, and Bongo's own son, is using social media to level the playing field.

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Fiji: President announces retirement

Written by Michael Hartsell · Oceania

Forum posters and bloggers are reacting to the announcement that Fiji’s president will step down. Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda announced his retirement after nearly nine years in office. At 88, he leaves office as the world’s oldest statesman.

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Updates from 31 July 2009

Cuba

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.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

China

David Bandurski from China Media Project translated an article written by Qian Gang which comments on the recent crack down of Gongmeng, a corporate registered citizen rights NGO, by the Beijing government.

• Oiwan Lam

Barbados

“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 common acts of corruption.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados

B.C. Pires recalls a radio show he used to host in the context of falling journalistic standards in Trinidad and Tobago: “From that thin end of the wedge we have reached this stage, where the Prime Minister can make the most foolish statements completely unchallenged – and the Media Association hastens to appease his sensibilities when they are ruffled because the media does not support government action to his satisfaction.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad & Tobago

Lifespan of a Chennette blogs about traditional sweets from Curacao: “It was a reminder that even if names were different, and languages, the people and food of the Caribbean do share so much!”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaica

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 rather than real; but it will be my statement that some things belong not to a single person, no matter how monied, but to humankind.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco