Global Voices · Citizen media stories from 2010 August 18

18 August 2010

Daily archive · 7 posts

Stories from 18 August 2010

Morocco: Fasting Versus Individual Liberties

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

For most Muslims, the holy month of Ramadan is a time of peace, of reflection, of family and faith. But for those who have given up on religion, Ramadan can be a difficult time, especially when you live in Morocco, where fasting is obligatory.

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Russia: Anglophone Bloggers Discuss Social and Political Aspects of the Wildfires

Written by Veronica Khokhlova · Eastern & Central Europe

Anglophone Russia bloggers have been discussing social and political aspects of the catastrophic wildfires and the ongoing firefighting efforts in central Russia since early August. Here is a selection of their views.

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U.S.A.: Russophone Students Blog About Work and Travel Program

Written by Maryna Reshetnyak · Eastern & Central Europe, North America

Every summer thousands of college students from Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet countries come to the United States to take part in the Work and Travel USA program. Many blog about their experiences and impressions.

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Paraguay: Soaring Soybean Production Prompts Clashes

Written by Juhie Bhatia · Latin America

As the global demand for soy rises, Paraguay has become the world's fastest-growing producer of the crop. But with resulting riches have also come battles over land rights and environmental concerns.

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Zambia: Citizens react to Chiluba's court clearance

Written by Gershom Ndhlovu · Sub-Saharan Africa

Zambian President Dr. Frederick Chiluba and seven others were found guilty of stealing US$46 million public funds by Zambian High Court judge Evans Hamaundu. As expected, the court's decision last week has attracted debate in the Zambian blogosphere.

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Bahrain: The Sorry State of Affairs of a Hidd Mosque

Written by Amira Al Hussaini · Middle East & North Africa

On Facebook, a Bahraini posts an eye-opening letter to a minister asking him to visit a mosque in Hidd, describing its sorry state of affairs. Read to the end of the letter to find out what could await those who raise their voices.

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Indonesia: “What's wrong, Mr. President?”

Written by Carolina Rumuat · East Asia

The speech of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on the eve of the country's Independence Day celebration disappointed many people, including netizens. Here are some online reactions.

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Updates from 18 August 2010

Ideas

Blog Timor News Network has republished a Facebook debate which was kicked off in late July by Augusto da Silva who posted a well-crafted essay by Fidelis Maglhães, challenging Timorese usage of “culture”. Magalhães was responding to a photo of the people of a mountain town carrying the PM.

• Janet Gunter

India

Mathew Ingram at Giga Om informs that Twitter has introduced ‘Twitter Tales‘, a collection of stories from users about how the service has helped them or affected their lives. @natashabadhwar, an Indian tweep from New Delhi was featured in the life section.

• Rezwan

Pakistan

Raza Rumi at Pak Tea House reports in details about the Ushahidi Crowdmap engine powered Pakistan Flood Incident Reporting site, which acts as a crowd-sourcing “data portal designed to gather comprehensive and dynamic information on disaster-related variables”.

• Rezwan

Bangladesh

Bangladesh Watchdog informs that an ‘unsinkable eco-friendly' boat made of jute fibre has reached the coast of La Ciotat, South of France after an eight month long journey from Bangladesh. The mission of the sail was to highlight the problems Bangladeshi fishermen are facing due to global warming.

• Rezwan

Brazil

“Dona Delma” has been on the worldwide Trending Topics for a week and , so far, most Twitter users haven't figured out the real meaning of it. Blog Hiper-Tension, copies [pt] the original post [pt] from a Brazilian Orkut's community, explaining the practical joke which consists of simply adding “Dona Delma” to all tweets.

• Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

Nicaragua

Grupo de Diversidad Sexual de Carazo (Sexual Diversity Group from Carazo) keeps a blog [es] called Espacio Comunicación Alternativa (Space for Alternative Communication), where they aim to, “Create alternative and accessible processes to inform, communicate and teach LGBT youth, to achieve empowerment, recognition and respect for different sexual orientations and sexual and gender identities.”

• Silvia Viñas

Nigeria

A video of a citizen reporter, Kayode Ogundamisi, interviewing fiery Lagos pastor of the convener of the Save Nigeria Group.

• Ndesanjo Macha

South Africa

Pierre de Vos discusses the constitutionality of the proposed Media Appeals Tribunal (MAP) in South Africa: “The legislature will thus either pass a law creating a MAP that will not change anything, or it will pass a law creating a MAP that would be unconstitutional…”

• Ndesanjo Macha

Nigeria

Should the Nigerian Communications Commission be allowed to track your movement? David Ajao answers: “This is ludicrous. Telecom operators are now law enforcement agencies. Even if the NCC was allowed to implement this absurdity, how would they access the GPS coordinates of a mobile phone…”

• Ndesanjo Macha

Kenya

MightyAfrican writes about Maker Faire Africa 2010. Maker Faire is an event that features African-made products amongst others: “If you are in Kenya this August 26 to 28, you should attend this event at the University of Nairobi campus.”

• Ndesanjo Macha