Global Voices · Citizen media stories from December 2009

December, 2009

Monthly archive · 164 posts

Stories from December, 2009

11 December 2009

China: Government shuts down BitTorrent sites, netizens distressed

Chinese Internet users are scrabbling for downloads from BitTorrent (BT) websites following speculation that authorities will completely shut them down. The largest BitTorrent websites in China like BTCHINA, VeryCD and the...

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Russia: Three Stories of Extreme Poverty

Written by Veronica Khokhlova · Eastern & Central Europe

Russian photojournalist Oleg Klimov shares three stories of extreme poverty that he happened to overhear while waiting for a train at the train station in Syzran, a city in Russia's Samara region.

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10 December 2009

Video: Human Rights Day and Non-Discrimination

Written by Juliana Rincón Parra · Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America

December 10th is Human Rights Day, and this year's topic is Non Discrimination and today we bring you a small selection of some of the videos people have made and uploaded to sustain this Human Right.

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Philippines: Bloggers Raise Voices Against Martial Law

Written by Karlo Mikhail Mongaya · East Asia

As the world commemorates International Human Rights Day, Filipino bloggers are eerily reminded of the dark days of the Marcos dictatorship when President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo imposed martial law in the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao.

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Colombia: Celebration of Lights and Candles

Written by Issa Villarreal · Latin America

Every year on December 7 and 8 Día de las Velitas (Day of the Candles) gathers families and enlightens the streets of Colombia announcing the arrival of Christmas.

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Ghana: President Atta Mills up against his own party?

Written by Linda Annan · Sub-Saharan Africa

In the months leading to the election of President John Evans Atta Mills, many Ghanaians, including those abroad, feared that a New Democratic Congress (NDC) win would morph into another reign by the party’s founder and former military ruler, President Jerry John Rawlings.

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Updates from December, 2009

24 December 2009

Pakistan

“Despite ‘war on terrorism’ and Pakistan’s war against Taliban and massive propaganda against Muslim militants ‘Jihadi culture’ is on rise not only in FATA but in various parts of Pakistan, including Punjab,” comments Dr. Shabir Choudhry.

• Rezwan

Bahamas

Bahamian Nicolette Bethel delves into the history of Stilton cheese to make a point about culture: “I’m going to argue…that culture does not just happen. Culture changes — like what is happening I write to the indigenous Junkanoo beat (which is being swallowed up by a hip-hop rhythm that is being played by too many drummers who have no real grounding or training in authentic Bahamian rhythms…)”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Bangladesh

To alleviate the nation's energy crisis Bangladesh adopted daylight saving time last June. The government has decided today to turn back the clock on the 31st December midnight. Omi Azad at Micro Reality Bites asks when exactly Bangladeshis will be celebrating the new year then?

• Rezwan