Global Voices · Citizen media stories from 2011 July 28

28 July 2011

Daily archive · 6 posts

Stories from 28 July 2011

Poland: The State of Reading

Written by Anna Gotowska · Eastern & Central Europe

A few weeks ago, a new social campaign - Reading in Poland - was launched by one of Poland's largest daily newspapers due to the fact that reading rates in Poland are very low: one reports states that 56 percent of the Poles don't read books at all - and are also incapable of reading texts longer than 3 pages. A huge debate has started on the reading culture in Poland and the reasons for the crisis it is facing.

· 2

· read »

Zambia: Blogger Thinks Late President Fixed Election Date

Written by Gershom Ndhlovu · Sub-Saharan Africa

Zambia’s President Rupiah Banda on July 28 2011 finally announced September 20 as the election date. There has been debate in the country to have a fixed election date instead of depending on the whims of a sitting president. Zambian netizens have welcomed the date with mixed reactions.

· 2

· read »

Kyrgyzstan: Government Bans News Websites from the Election Campaign

Written by Altynbek Ismailov · Central Asia & Caucasus

Ahead of the presidential elections to be held in Kyrgyzstan on 30 October, 2011, the Central Elections Committee (CEC) came out with a controversial decision, barring web-based news media from taking part in the campaign. Eleven news sites were denied accreditation to inform voters on the pre-election developments.

· 5

· read »

Lebanon: Musician Arrested for Mocking President in Song

Written by Antoun Issa · Middle East & North Africa

Lebanese musician Zeid Hamdan was detained briefly this week for allegedly defaming President Michel Suleiman in a song he released in 2010. Lebanese newspaper Assafir has since reported the Hamdan...

· read »

South Korea: 41 Dead in Torrential Flooding and Landslides

Written by Lee Yoo Eun · East Asia

Torrential rain has battered South Korea for several consecutive days, causing landslides, flooding and power cuts. At least 41 people have been killed and 12 people are still missing. Throughout the disaster, South Koreans have shared updated stories, photos and useful tips for those affected via Twitter.

· 2

· read »

Lebanon: Maritime Dispute with Israel Escalates

Written by Antoun Issa · Middle East & North Africa

Hezballah leader Hassan Nasrallah has exclaimed that God had given Lebanon an opportunity to rid itself of a crippling debt, and become a "rich country" by providing it lucrative offshore oil and gas reserves. However, the reserves potentially lie in a disputed maritime border zone with Israel.

· 2

· read »

Updates from 28 July 2011

Equatorial Guinea

The blog of Equatoguinean cartoonist Ramón Esono, Las Locuras de Jamón y Queso [es], denounces the country's political situation with cartoons. Each cartoon of the LOCOStv (MADtv) presents well known characters of the Equatoguinean political and social life and some interviews full of satire and parody. President Teodoro Obiang is the most recurrent character in the blog's set.

• Ana Lúcia Sá

Puerto Rico (U.S.)

Feminist activist and blogger Verónica RT continues her project of updating the national statistics of femicides in Puerto Rico, which do not necessarily coincide with the numbers provided by the Police. According to her research, 22 women have been murdered this year, and three more cases are under investigation [es].

• Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Puerto Rico (U.S.)

Miguel Adrover discusses and contextualizes [es] governor Luis Fortuño's recent comments about the need to develop more engineers, scientists and mathematicians. The blogger, a science teacher himself, stresses that what needs support is a scientific culture with a profound ethical commitment within an interdisciplinary curriculum.

• Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Puerto Rico (U.S.)

Blogger Rima Brusi writes a post full of emotion [es] on the recent case of a man who murdered his four-year old daughter in yet another incident related to domestic violence.

• Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Puerto Rico (U.S.)

The blogs Bicijangueo [es] and PR Fixed [es] are posting texts, videos, and audio on everything and anything related to the new urban cycling trend in Puerto Rico.

• Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Peru

July 28 is Independence in Peru, and this year it is also the day Ollanta Humala was sworn in as the new President of Peru. In his blog Globalizado [es] Juan Arellano, Global Voices Spanish Lingua Editor and author, adds a Storify post with pictures and Twitter reactions to the ceremony.

• Silvia Viñas

Ghana

Graham shows how social conservatives in Africa use the anti-globalization struggle: “They use the same arguments and language as the radicals, but they are not revolutionaries. Their language of liberation, of African independence and opposition to aid, seeks not to liberate but to constrain. They seek to ossify culture and to maintain the status quo. They are social conservatives.”

• Ndesanjo Macha

South Africa

Bontle Moeng blogs about the first African demo of sixth sense technology: “Basically, Sixth Sense is a mini-projector coupled with a camera and a cellphone—which acts as the computer and your connection to the Cloud, all the information stored on the web.”

• Ndesanjo Macha