Stories from 26 January 2011
Russia: Students Launch Online Map of Illegal Gambling
Students of Saratov University of Technology launched gdecasino.ru, a crowd-sourcing website dedicated to map illegal gambling sites. A representative of Russian police said [RUS] to “Komsomolskaya pravda” newspaper that the website has already helped to close few illegal casinos.
Bangladesh: Superiority Between Judiciary and Parliament
Judiciary or parliament, which is superior in Bangladesh? An Ordinary Citizen sheds a light on the recent controversy involving judiciary and the parliament.
Egypt: Continuous Coverage of the Protests on Facebook
A continuous coverage page is available for the January 25 protests on this April 6 Youth Movement Facebook page (Ar). Reports surfaced today that Facebook was blocked in Egypt.
Iran: A blogger's life in danger
Hrana, human rights activists news agency, reports [fa] that Hossein Maleki Ronaghi ‘s life is in danger and he needs urgent medical care. Hossein Maleki Ronaghi has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. Hussein Rongah Melki (also known as “Babak Khoramdin”) was one of the key cyberactivists behind Iran...
Chile's “Green Revolution”: Fighting Coal Mining in Isla Riesco
Daniel Arellano [es] writes about Chile's “Green Revolution”: Environmental activists and concerned citizens are trying to raise awareness about 5 coal mining projects and the effects they would have on Isla Riesco, an island in the southernmost region of Chile.
Peru: Discussing Gay Marriage During a Presidential Campaign Year
Carlos A. Quiroz discusses gay marriage in Peru in a video in his blog Peruanista [es]. Peruvians are debating equal marriage in the wake of this year's presidential elections.
Mexico: Indigenous Rights Advocate, Bishop Samuel Ruiz, Dies
On January 24th, Bishop Samuel Ruiz Garcia passed away at the age of 86. He was known for his work as an advocate of the rights of the indigenous Mayan people in the state of Chiapas.
Puerto Rico: Best Culture Blog
The Coalition of Artists of Puerto Rico gave the award of best cultural blog for the month of January to El Naufragio de las Palabras [es] maintained by Carlos Antonio Otero.
Bahamas, D.R.: Fish Poaching
Bahama Pundit‘s Larry Smith notes that “a recent report…has confirmed that poaching by commercial fishermen from the Dominican Republic is the greatest single threat to Bahamian seafood resources.”
Caribbean, U.S.A.: Contemporary Art Exhibit
“It includes work by thirty-six artists from twelve Caribbean countries and the international diaspora”: Antilles blogs about an exhibition of contemporary Caribbean art that is now on show at the Museum of the Americas in Washington, DC.
Puerto Rico: “The Love of My Life”
Blogger and lawyer Verónica RT looked up the Facebook status [es] of Zacha Hernández Alemán, a recent victim of domestic violence in Puerto Rico. It said: “I am engaged with the love of my life…”
Trinidad & Tobago: Independent Mas
Alice Yard blog is excited about Coalition, the 2011 independent mas band offering which “will provide potential masqueraders with a variety of design components they can use to decorate their costumes themselves — a practice similar to elements of the sailor mas tradition.”
Guyana: End of Relationship, Not End of Life
The Guyana Groove is concerned about “the extremely high rate” of domestic violence, especially “in those cases in which one or both of the partners left the relationship.”
Puerto Rico: Working with Needles
El Faktor [es] posts a video portraying the work of Puerto Rican tattoo artist Krystel Ivannie.
Egypt: After Twitter, Facebook Now Blocked
Egypt today blocked access to Facebook, as part of its clampdown on the transfer of information, following yesterday's protests. Also, yesterday, it blocked access to Twitter, jammed mobile communications in areas protesters were gathering in, and banned access to live video streaming site Bambuser.
Namibia: I am an African goddess
Big Ear Records, Production label and new management from South Africa is releasing the much anticipated new super dance album, I am an African goddess, of the Namibian Superstar LadyMay.
World: Free and open source software for academics
Kajsa attended a lecture by Joshua Kwesi Aikins as a part of a two-day lecture series for graduate students at Institute of African Studies at University of Ghana where free and open source softwares for academics were recommended.
Ghana: GMT means Ghana Man Time!
Do you know Ghana Time?: “Jokes abound about lateness – GMT stands for Ghana Man Time – and there is an assumption that nothing will ever start on time. And yet sometimes I wonder whether things don’t start on time because people are late, or because the attendees know that...
Nigeria: The new face of politics
Robinson Tombari Sibe shows how the Nigerian President has changed the face of Nigerian politics: “President Jonathan has enlarged the political workspace in Nigeria by not only playing by the rules but also encouraging perceived opponents in their quest to unseat him.”
Eritrea: The Tunisian revolution cannot be replicated in Eritrea
Yosief Ghebrehiwet explains why the Tunisian revolution cannot be replicated in Eritrea:”the wholesale eviction of the adult student population from the cities and the overall low development level of the nation make it impossible for the kind of uprising that we are witnessing in Tunisia to be emulated in Eritrea.”
Egypt: Anonymous Strikes Again
Egyptian blogger and human rights defender Ramy Raoof shares screen-shots of Egyptian government websites after they were taken down yesterday (25th of January) by Anonymous. This post is part of our special coverage of Egypt Protests 2011.
