Stories from 23 October 2010
Philippines: Popular dancing videos
Dancing prisoners. Dancing maids. Dancing flight attendants. And now Dancing Tax Collectors. Watch again these popular dancing videos from the Philippines.
Mexico: Blog ‘Words of Resistance’ Publishes Stories of Teenagers from Oaxaca
The blog Words of Resistance is “a space for stories written by students from Zapotitlán’s middle school (grade 7-9) who are transforming their reality word by word.” The students live in the Mixtec area of the state of Oaxaca, “one of the areas of Mexico with the highest rate of...
Indonesia: Torture video
A video shows Indonesian soldiers torturing prisoners in West Papua. Human rights groups describe the footage as “Indonesia's Abu Ghraib.”
Thailand: New book on Lese Majeste
David writes about a new book that tackles the rise of lese majeste cases in Thailand. Between 2006 and 2009, at least 765 persons were prosecuted for lèse majesté.
Ukraine: Dog does Parkour
This video is once again making its rounds internationally, adding a twist to the usual parkour video. In it, a Staffordshire Terrier can be seen running up walls, trees and jumping from obstacle to obstacle.
South Korea: Protesting with Flowers and Pink Placards
In South Korea, a female protester made a change in the conservative education sector, a feat no burly protester with a Molotov cocktail has succeeded in achieving over several decades.
China: Looking at Xi Jinping, possible future ruler
As with all of China's top leaders, little is known or allowed to be known about the country's likely next ruler, Xi Jinping, despite a curious public. The man has lots of fans, though, and despite wide-ranging censorship, together they have a few important things to say about Xi and China's future.
Saudi Arabia: Genie in Court
"I was under the influence of a genie" is the latest excuse for administrative corruption in Saudi Arabia. A corrupt judge, a genie and a religious investigation panel, which claims to have interrogated the genie, create a plot to good for Saudi netizens to pass on. Haifa Alrasheed brings us the latest reactions on the story.
Russia: Post-Emergency Sustainability of Crowdsourcing Projects
Gregory Asmolov analyzes the fate of the Ushahidi-based Help Map project after the wildfires have ended. What is the future of emergency projects and how can we make them more sustainable?
Angola: Update on Press Freedom – “Repression or Urban Violence?”
One day after Global Voices published an article about the murder of journalist Chakussanga, on October 22 another Angolan journalist from “Radio Despertar” – Antonio Manuel “Jojó” da Silva – was injured in stabbing, as Committee to Protect Journalists reports.