Stories from 17 August 2011
Pakistan: Killing Of Protesters Enrage People Of Gilgit-Baltistan
Habib R. Sulemani at The Terrorland reports that police indiscriminately fired on the protesters demanding for basic rights in Gilgit-Baltistan. An ex-soldier and his son were killed and many more got injured, which sparked more protests in this northernmost administrative unit of Pakistan.
Pakistan: Youth Gets Justice After Video of Extra-Judicial Killing Emerged
On June 8, 2011, a 19 year old boy was shot dead at point blank by a Pakistan Rangers personnel in Karachi. Video footage emerged showing that the boy was unarmed. After two months, the accused Rangers official who fired the shots has been convicted with the death penalty.
Brazil: Loggers Threaten Government Officials in the Amazon
Police officers and officials from the Brazilian government's agencies dedicated to the environment (Ibama) and indigenous rights (Funai) were surrounded and threatened by a group of about 60 loggers in the Amazon forest on August 12. Journalist Leonardo Sakamoto reports [pt] that the loggers wanted to prevent the seizure of...
East Timor: Students Arrested While Supporting West Papua
On August 17, a demonstration in support of West Papua in Dili ended with the detention of three Timorese students, reports the blog East Timor and Indonesia Action Network. Students were calling for the right of West Papuan to self-determination while condemning human rights violation by the Indonesian military and...
Cuba: Pablo Milanés’ Voice
Generation Y blogs about the upcoming Pablo Milanés concert in Miami, which some in the diaspora are agitating to boycott: “The troubadour who proposes to sing in Florida in a few days is a man who has grown and matured artistically and civically, conscious, as well, of the need for...
Cuba: First Transsexual Marriage Preceded “Gay” Wedding
Gaspar, El Lugareño [ES] claims that last Saturday's “gay” wedding was actually not Cuba's first, saying the first marriage of a transsexual person happened in the late 80s.
Haiti: Bishop Kébreau's Political Statement
Wadner Pierre examines whether “Bishop Louis Kébreau, President of the Haitian Episcopal Conference, call[ed] on Haitian President Martelly to be ruthless and dictatorial”, adding: “I am very disturbed by the declaration…but I am not surprised because powerful clerics like him have always fought against a democratic government in Haiti.”
Jamaica: Marcus Garvey's Birthday
Diaspora litblogger Geoffrey Philp posts a poem to honour the anniversary of Marcus Garvey's birthday.
Guyana: Chemical Yellow
“My Irish ‘auntie’ remember. She been napping that Thursday afternoon, windows open to let in blueness, sky, sea-wind. Thick chemical choke she dreams. She pelt out o’ she bed to shut windows”: Guyana-Gyal tries to figure out why all the trees, plants and vegetables look so…yellow.
Costa Rica's ‘Slut Walk’
José Medrano [es], ‘Conejitos Suicidas’ [es] and Julio Córdoba [es], among others, blogged about the ‘Slut Walk‘ which was held in Costa Rica for the first time on Sunday, August 14.
Chile: Students Seeking Education Reform Meet with Senate Education Committee
Leaders of the student movement met with the Senate's Education Committee yesterday, August 16, to discuss profit (“lucro” in Spanish) in education. Alicia Sánchez, executive secretary of the ‘Chilean Association of NGOs’ [es], comments on the session –which was broadcasted on TV Senado– at El Quinto Poder [es].
Nicaragua: A Prediction on the Disappearance of Print Newspapers
Blogger Emila Persola argues [es] that “by Ortega's reelection in 2016, or to be more optimistic by the 2018 World Cup in Russia, there will be no print newspapers in Nicaragua […] because mobile phones will have supplanted reading and information habits.”
Russia: 20 Years After the Putsch
Putin Watcher joins in commemorating all the bicentennials of soviet demise coming up this August by writing about the failed coup against Gorbachev in 1991.
Global Voices Partners With Ashoka on Citizen Media Competition
Global Voices is proud to be partnering with Ashoka Changemakers on its ‘Citizen Media Innovation Competition' with Google. Four winners will be awarded US$5,000 each for citizen media projects that make the world a better place.
Russia: Arresting Political Opposition
Vladimir Kara-Murza of Spotlight on Russia argues that Putin's Russia is becoming increasingly Kafkaesque as opposition leader Boris Nemtsov again – twice in two days – has been arrested for exercising political rights and freedoms, at the same time as Prime Minister Putin is seemingly becoming all the more detached...
Ukraine: Closing Window to West
LEvko of Foreign Notes writes about increasing western critique against the trials against former Ukrainian Prime Minister, Yulia Timoshenko, and several of her ex-colleagues, and how this – combinded with corruption and bad business climate – is effectively closing the window to integration with the European Union.
Baltics-Sweden: Twenty Years of Independence
Albatros of Litauen blog reports about [ger] Swedish celebrations of 20 years of independence for Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and how Swedish Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt, apologised to his Baltic colleagues for recognizing soviet annexation during World War II.
Dominican Republic: Rita Indiana, “Projects Like Mine Owe a Lot to Social Networks and the Internet”
In an interview possible thanks to a collaborative network of bloggers and friends, Dominican songwriter, singer, writer, and performer Rita Indiana talks about her musical identities, artistic multidimensionality, future projects, and her relationship with social media and the Internet, among other topics.
Argentina: Primary Elections and Future Presidential Candidates
On August 14, Argentina held primary elections to select presidential candidates for the upcoming October elections. The current president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, won the absolute majority for re-nomination, obtaining more than 50% of the vote. On Twitter netizens shared all kinds of reactions.
Philippines: Tokay Gecko Hunting Craze
In recent months, the hunting of Tokay Geckos has become a craze in the Philippines because of reports that online traders have been buying these lizards for a large amount of money. The hunting started when it was rumored that geckos can help cure asthma and HIV/AIDS. It was recently exposed as a hoax and scam.
Russia: Volga German Deportation Turns 70
Otto's Random Thoughts commemorates the 70th anniversary of the soviet deportation of Volga Germans during the Second World War.
