Stories from 5 January 2011
El Salvador: Political Violence in Cabañas
Voices from El Salvador's Weblog reports: “Another wave of political violence swept through Cabañas, El Salvador over the Christmas Holiday […] The tension between the local civil society organizations that led the anti-mining movement and local power structures continues to grow and result in threats and violence.”
Featured Translator: Adriana Gutiérrez
Let's meet a translator from Global Voices in Spanish: Adriana Gutiérrez. In this interview she tells us about her activities, how she got involved with the Lingua project and of course, about her beloved country: Venezuela.
Maldives: Thaana Fonts On Android
Jawish Hameed posts how Thaana fonts of the Divehi language can be installed in Android OS.
Pakistan: A Nepali On The Assassination Of Salman Taseer
Nepali blogger Bhumika Ghimire comments on the recent assassination of the Punjab governor Salman Taseer: “Yes, the murderer was called a hero. I will not mention his name here, he does not deserve to be known. His deeds are enough to condemn him. But to honor this man by the...
Paraguay: Government Enacts Law on Languages
E'a [es] reports that the Paraguayan government has enacted a Law on Languages. Indigenous Peoples Issues and Resources explains that,”The law requires public institutions to use the Guarani language as determined by the Constitution.”
Venezuela: Opposition Returns to National Assembly
In a post titled “The end of an error,” Juan Cristobal reports: “Today, Venezuela’s opposition returned to the National Assembly they boycotted five years ago.” He adds: “It would be easy to dismiss this as inconsequential political theater. Yet the fact remains that the majority of Venezuelans who voted for...
Malawi: Saving lives with knowledge management and mobile phones
Saving lives in rural Malawi with knowledge management and mobile phones: “The most important item in Amon Chimphepo’s medical kit is a small cell phone. This single piece of technology has proved to be a lifeline for people living in one of the most remote regions of Malawi. Its power...
Zimbabwe: 2011 SMS Resolutions
2011 SMS resolutions in Zimbabwe: “This morning we asked our email and SMS subscribers “Whats your resolution about how you’ll get involved in making change happen in 2011′?” Of the 70+ responses we’ve received so far, the most popular response from our subscribers is that they would vote (21 said...
Kenya: Kenya Police Website Hacked
Kelvin reacts to news about the hacking of the Kenyan police website: “So, yeah. The Kenya police website was broken into. Twice. In a time-frame of a few days. It makes me wonder whether the boys in blue really do take cyber security seriously. This time the hacker even exposed...
Africa: Tackling Africa’s Classified Listings Space
Tackling Africa's classified listings space: “The only other classifieds system that has made a dent in Africa is Kerawa, operated out of Cameroon. They have thousands of listings in quite a few countries. They’ve done this over the last 3 years, bootstrapped and growing organically.”
Zimbabwe: Three reasons to plant a tree in a pothole
Three reasons why trees are planted in potholes in Zimbabwe: “Plant a tree in a pot hole.1) It makes pot holes easier to spot 2) It improves the environment 3) You might finally get the city council’s attention”
China: Qian Yunhui’s death and the role of citizen investigation
The Qian Yunhui case sparks further debate about the role of citizen investigation teams in China.
Bahamas, Cuba: Looking for Fidel
Bahama Pundit‘s Larry Smith goes to Cuba in search of Fidel Castro.
Trinidad & Tobago: R.I.P. Sir Ellis
Trinidad and Tobago's first President, Sir Ellis Clarke, passed away last week; Caribbean Camera has the details on funeral arrangements and how people can pay their last respects.
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: The “What Ifs” of Earthquakes
“Are we really prepared or are we sitting ducks waiting for the worst?”: Abeni finds herself thinking about earthquakes.
Bermuda: Decolonisation?
Vexed Bermoothes explains why he is “very cynical about the UN’s Special Committee on Decolonisation.”
Jamaica: On Wikileaks
Active Voice maintains that “the single most important thing to have happened globally last year was Wikileaks.”
Madagascar: Lemur Poisoning On the Rise
Mongabay writes that the environmental NGO Fanamby in Madagascar warns of a new practice of poisoning lemurs to poach them [Warning: graphic images]. Fanamby also notes that lemur poaching and rosewood trafficking are on the rise since the political crisis of 2009 (fr).
China: Politics of the surrounding gaze
Xiao Mi from the China Media Project interviewed Hu Yong on the Chinese online culture of “surrounding gaze”, who explains why netizens believe that they can change the world by the collective action of gaze.
China: Whistleblower detained in mental home for 14 years
Jing Gao from Ministry of Tofu summarizes a report from Tianya forum written by Guo Hanyun, who claims that her father Guo Yuanrong, a cadre at the Bureau of Construction in Zhuxi County of Shiyan, Hubei, has been locked up in Shiyan Mental Hospital for 14 years for blowing the...
Colombia: Twitterathon to Help Those Affected by the Winter
During the heavy rainy season in Colombia, an initiative to have a "twitterathon" emerged through ideas published by Colombian Twitter users in order to collect donations for flood victims. Author Catalina Restrepo gives us the details.
