Stories from 9 November 2010
Myanmar Election: Junta-backed party wins, violence erupts
After twenty years, elections were held in Myanmar and as expected the junta-backed party won with the Union Solidarity and Development Party getting more than 80 percent of the seats in parliament. But the opposition is claiming that the poll results were rigged.
Philippines: Students oppose education budget cuts
Student activists in the Philippines are protesting the decision of the government to slash the funding of state universities.
Mexico, USA: Border Women Begin Hunger Strike in Front of White House
The Latin Americanists reports that, “Thirteen women gathered in front of the White House on Monday and commenced a hunger strike. They requested that the U.S. government pay more attention to social problems along the border region.”
Uruguay: First Blog Competition for University Students
Gabriel Budiño [es] shares information on the first blog competition for Uruguayan university students, which seeks to promote debate and is open to any university student from Uruguay.
Guatemala: Internet Accessibility and Mobile Phones
Antigua Daily Photo shares a graph that shows the exponential growth of mobile phones in Guatemala: “Soon you will see a similar pattern with Internet access as a result of free Internet 3G modems; although I suspect the numbers will not be as high unless smart phones become the new...
Trinidad & Tobago: A Miracle for Judah
Plain Talk chronicles the experience of young Judah Lovell, a burn victim who has suffered through the local health care system and deserves “his over due happily ever after.”
Bermuda: Sexual Discrimination
bermudashorts says that when it comes the issue of sexual orientation and equal rights, “there is no such thing as compromise…passing this legislation has nothing to do with offending conservative or religious Bermudians, it is about discrimination, protecting human rights, one of a government’s main responsibilities.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Silencing the Media
“Fazeer Mohammed is a writer and broadcaster in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. Last Saturday he was fired from the Caribbean New Media Group, a STATE-RUN media house in T&T”: The Undisputed Truth finds it curious that “his removal came right after a little confrontational interview with government Minister Dr. Suruj Rambachan.”
St. Lucia: Hurricane Relief Efforts
“There are people who are very much still marooned by the metres of mud that descended from the mountains, swept away and buried their homes, vehicles, farms and kitchen gardens”: Sun, Rain, Or… does not want complacency to set in when it comes to hurricane relief for St. Lucia.
Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago: Not to Blame for Boycott
“We don’t care what Trade Minister Stephen Cadiz wants to say. There is no other way to look at the statement of their PM than plain out of order and highhanded”: Yardflex.com does not accept the inference that Jamaicans are to blame for instigating the boycott of T&T products.
Chile: Students Walk More Than a Thousand Kilometers for Public Education
Three Chilean university students began walking this past September 30th. They walk for Chilean education and will cover more than 1000 km through Chile until they arrive in Santiago, the capitol. They march in a peaceful protest against the privatization of education in their country.
China: Comments on Ai Weiwei's River Crab Banquet
Over the weekend, prominent Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei was under house arrest, a move believed to be coming from powerful political figures in Shanghai. Ai had planned to fly to Shanghai to host a goodbye party at his condemned studio on Sunday. Although the authorities say the studio...
Zambia: Reversing domestic violence
Steps to be taken to reverse domestic violence in Zambia: “The second change is the need for special domestic violence courts. It appears that our courts may not fully realise the special nature of some of these cases, especially the cultural and economic angles. We need to experiment with tailored...
South Africa: Cape Town has largest Twitter usage
Cape Town has the largest Twitter usage in South Africa: “A report released earlier this year by Fuseware, a social media research company shows that Cape Town has the largest number of Twitter users in SA. The report also highlights that most of SA tweets on Tuesdays and the least...
Uganda: Does gender matter in social change?
Maureen blogs about the Digital Natives: My bubbles, My space and My Voice workshop taking place in Johannesburg, South Africa: I cannot stop thinking about yesterday’s morning session on “Keyword paring”. This was an exercise that required each participant to describe their practices, policies and ideologies in one word which...
Uganda: Do you need to stay in power after 24 years?
Evelyn discusses the decision by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to seek another term: “Many think 24 years is enough time for any able minded President to bring forth the agendas that you had for a nation and therefore move on and let others hold the candle from where you leave...
Taiwan: Open data, open failure
Zonble demonstrates many failed examples of how Taiwanese government spend money on creating useless, difficult and empty “open data” websites of crime information[zht]. As an iPhone app developer, he also criticizes the government for over-emphasizing on soft and promotional apps like “flora expo guide”, but not apps for crime information...
Taiwan: Two election rallies in Taipei
Taiwanese will vote in elections in five major cities on 27 November. Frozen Garlic observes two campaign rallies. The first for Eric Chu (朱立倫), the KMT candidate for Mayor of Xinbei City. The second for Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑), a DPP candidate for Taipei City Council.
Japan: Tezuka fire safety posters
Pinktentacle presents a series of fire safety posters featuring famous manga artist Ozamu Tezuka‘s characters. The series dates back to 1979.