Global Voices · Citizen media stories from 2011 September 30

30 September 2011

Daily archive · 5 posts

Stories from 30 September 2011

United States: Increase in Poverty Rate Amongst Hispanics

Written by Robert Valencia · Translated by Louella Mahabir · North America

The American economy is at a standstill and seems stuck on that plateau. The poverty rate is affecting more than 46 million people, 15.1 percent of the population, according to the latest Census figures. Minorities, and Hispanics in particular, are amongst the most affected.

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Colombia: Incarceration of Bogota’s Former Mayor Stirs Debate

Written by Robert Valencia · Translated by Robert Valencia · Latin America

Aside from the uproar that Congressman Juan Manuel Corzo sparked over his “fuel subsidy,” now Samuel Moreno Rojas, the former mayor of Bogotá, has been sent to prison while facing accusations of embellishment, fraud and extortion.

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Mexico: #ReformaPoliticaYA ('Political Reform Now'), Reactions on Twitter

Written by Miguel Angel Guevara · Translated by Elizabeth · Latin America

It has been several months since citizen organizations and activists tried to attain the approval of a political reform that includes, among other points, reelection for mayors and legislators. The reform has caused passionate reactions on Twitter and revived fears from the past.

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Macedonia: Protests Against Police Brutality Continue

Written by Filip Stojanovski · Eastern & Central Europe

Several hundred persons continued the street protests against police brutality in Skopje on September 29. With only two exceptions, the Macedonian media largely obeyed the embargo on covering the protests.

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Laos According to WikiLeaks

Written by Mong Palatino · East Asia

WikiLeaks has released a set of Laos files that confirmed the country’s underdevelopment, endemic corruption in the bureaucracy, and the fragile state of its environment. Here are some online reactions and excerpts of the Laos cables.

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Updates from 30 September 2011

India

Meghavarshini Krishnaswamy at Youth Ki Awaaz interviews Swechha, an NGO based in Delhi, which is a multifaceted organization working for environmental conservation, waste management, underprivileged children and volunteer placements.

• Rezwan

Pakistan

Chowrangi discusses the recent stand-off between USA and Pakistan and its implication on the war on terror.

• Rezwan

Bhutan

Penstar stresses the need to simplify and promote use of the Bhutanese national language Dzongkha decreasing dominance of English language.

• Rezwan

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has cancelled issuing visas on arrival to 76 countries and visitors from those countries will have to get prior Visa approval through an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) system. The Puppeteer analyzes whether it will effect the tourism industry in Sri Lanka.

• Rezwan

Cuba

A former political prisoner blogs about his experience with the Cuban jail system, here.

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad & Tobago

“Discussion is revolving around the country’s earnings from our energy resources and the likely size of the next year’s budget, expected to be delivered in early October”: Afra Raymond warns that “without proper control over expenditure, we will continue to lurch from crisis to crisis.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Cuba

Generation Y compares the official distribution of “rental properties, cars, businesses [and] houses” to a pinata at a children's party, saying: “What is most worrying is [that] the…existence of such a mechanism will undoubtedly feed corruption, 'socialism,' and put into the hands of government sympathizers the fattest strings for when it becomes necessary to pull on them in unison.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

North Korea

Photographer Sam Gellman took 50 photos of a large-scale Mass Games in Pyongyang during his 4-day trip to North Korea. Although nearly 100,000 North Korean were mobilized for the game which is heavily laden with regime's propaganda, net users left good comments on Gellman who captured these incredible images.

• Lee Yoo Eun

Cameroon

Dibussi looks at how candidates in Presidential Election 2011 in Cameroon are navigating the social media landscape: “President Paul: The president’s relatively recent social media presence is part of a much broader (and reportedly very expensive) PR campaign crafted by Patricia Balme, the most recent in a series of French “communications guru,” who have managed the President's image since 1992…”

• Ndesanjo Macha

Brazil

Brazilian citizens used the hashtag #CidEspancaProfessores (Cid beats teachers) in solidarity with public school teachers who were beaten by the police on September 29. That day, a proposal of the governor Cid Gomes for changes in the career development of teachers was passed in the Legislative Assembly of Ceará. After 54 days of strike, teachers occupied the Assembly on Wednesday (28).

• João Miguel D. de A. Lima