6 May 2011

Stories from 6 May 2011

Palestine: Demonstrations Against Occupation, For Unity

In the last several years, West Bank Palestinian villages have seen their land claimed both by Jewish settlements in the West Bank and by the security wall erected by Israel. In villages such as Nabi Saleh, Bi'lin and Ni'lin, village residents have responded by holding weekly nonviolent protests. The week after Hamas and Fatah inked their unity agreement was no exception.

Greece: Documentary Film “Debtocracy” Available in English

  6 May 2011

Debtocracy, a documentary by Katerina Kitidi and Aris Hatzistefanou about the causes and possible solutions of the Greek debt crisis, can be viewed with the English subtitles beginning today. It's distributed under Creative Commons BY-SA 3.0 license and allegedly has had over 1 million views so far. This “documentary produced...

Tunisia: Police Brutality is Back

Tunisians are back on the streets calling for the overthrow of the government, after former Interior Minister Farhat Rajhi announced on Facebook that Tunisia continues to be run by a shadow government, headed by a friend of Ben Ali, Kamel Ltaief, among other things. And once again, protesters were faced with police brutality and repression.

Guyana: Chanderpaul & the WICB

  6 May 2011

WICB Expose says that “Shivnarine Chanderpaul is just the latest in a long line of great West Indies cricketers to be mistreated by the West Indies Cricket Board” and links to an interview with the cricketer to support its claim.

Cuba: Torture Tactic

  6 May 2011

Uncommon Sense blogs about how the authorities “have responded to Andy Frometa Cuenca, a political prisoner on hunger strike since April 16 to demand his release and that of all political prisoners in Cuba.”

Trinidad & Tobago: Time for Land Use Policy

  6 May 2011

Plain Talk calls for reason in the ongoing battle between local farmers and the Housing Development Corporation, saying, “I have called for a land use policy from this government and the last and I am not the only one. Farming for self sufficiency should be one of our front burner...

Trinidad & Tobago: Valley Dies

  6 May 2011

Trinidad and Tobago News Blog reports that “former government minister and People’s National Movement (PNM) stalwart, Kenneth Valley died this morning.”

Cuba: Proper Care for HIV+ Mother

  6 May 2011

Pedazos de La Isla reports that the Orlando Zapata Tamayo National Resistance Front has publicly requested – and since received – proper medical service and housing conditions for an HIV-positive mother and her young child.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Surge in Use of Mobile Phones

  6 May 2011

André-Michel Essoungou writes the following on the site reseautelecom.com: “According to the ITU [International Telecommunication Union], investments in the African mobile phone sector, the prime mover of information and communication technologies, went from US$8.1 billion in 2005 to nearly US$70 billion today. These technologies are about to become the driving...

Africa: Osama's Death: How the Letter O Helped Obama

  6 May 2011

African netizens react to the news of Osama's death: Kenyan blogger Clay Onyango comes up with his take on why Osama was killed by the United States administration, while Crazy Nairobian explains what would have happened if Osama had been killed by a movie hero such as Arnold Schwarzenegger or Bruce Lee.

Jordan: “Bring Raad Home” from Syria

Momentum is building up online to pressure the Syrian authorities to release Jordanian Raad Kawar, who has been held since April 19. The 26-year-old was in Syria returning by car from vacation in Beirut to Fuheis, Jordan, where he lives, when he was arrested. Find out what relatives and friends are doing online to push for his freedom.

Azerbaijan: Clashes during hijab ban protest

Tamada Tales comments on reports that a protest held to oppose a ban on the hijab in schools today ended in clashes with police. The blog notes the official line that the demonstration outside the country's Ministry of Education was dispersed in an orderly fashion by police is not borne...

Kuwait: In Love with Osama Bin Laden

Kuwaiti columnist Khulood Al-Khamis has declared her undying love to terror mastermind Osama Bin Laden, saying she looks forward to being united with him in heaven to live out her dreams. On Twitter, Kuwaitis express shock at her column and Al-Khamis' sentiments.

Japan: Tarō Okamoto's Mural Hijacked

  6 May 2011

Displayed in Tokyo's Shibuya Station, the mural “Myth of Tomorrow” by Tarō Okamoto depicts the atomic bombing in Hiroshima. Upowers2008 posted a video of the mural after it mysteriously “gained” an additional panel that references the Fukushima nuclear reactor meltdown, as 3yen explains. Police have taken down the panel since...

Mexico: Day 1 of Peaceful Protest Against Drug War Violence

  6 May 2011

On Thursday May 5, 2011, a national protest (#marchanacional on Twitter) kicked off in Cuernavaca, Morelos, a city 80 kilometers (around 50 miles) away from Mexico City. The participants en route to the capital in a peaceful walk will be received on Sunday, May 8, with a massive peaceful demonstration against the violence generated by the War on Drugs.