Global Voices · Citizen media stories from October 2011

October, 2011

Monthly archive · 207 posts

Featured stories from October 2011

Taiwan: Photos from the LGBT Pride Parade 2011 in Taipei

China’s Stability Machine and the Detention of Chen Guangcheng

As waves of visits to fight for the release of China's blind activist Chen Guangcheng are turned back by the violence organized by the local government, Chinese bloggers explore the stability machine that is at play behind Chen's detention.

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Russia: The Data Leak War and Other Pre-Election Surprises

Tunisia: Elections Usher in a New Dawn 31 October 2011
Mexico: Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt over Anonymous' #OpCartel 31 October 2011
Saudi Arabia: Poverty Video Vloggers Released 31 October 2011
France: Calls for Official Recognition of 1961 Paris Algerian Massacre 31 October 2011
Russia: Retired Tennis Star Marat Safin to Run for Parliament 30 October 2011

Stories from October, 2011

31 October 2011

Tunisia: Let's Invade Social Networks!

Written by Mona Kareem · Middle East & North Africa

A crazy wave of posts hit the world of social networks when Tunisian netizens decided to invade Facebook and Twitter with their comments. First came the official Facebook page of US President Barack Obama. Soon other world leaders got a taste of this spam-attack.

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30 October 2011

China: Questions Following Mekong River Massacre

Written by John Kennedy · East Asia

Thirteen Chinese sailors were killed earlier this month in an attack on two cargo ships. Nine Thai soldiers have claimed responsibility, which the Thai government says is theirs alone, but contradicting points in the case have left many with lingering doubts.

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Thailand: Floods and Social Media

Written by Mong Palatino · East Asia

Many parts of Thailand are still flooded as the country continues to face the worst flooding disaster in the past half century. But some bloggers believe the flooding disaster has been exaggerated by the media - social media in particular.

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Brazil: Police Restrain Students at the University of São Paulo

Written by Adriano Rangel · Translated by Melissa Mann · Latin America

Military police launched a blitz operation at the University of São Paulo after approaching three students smoking marijuana on the night of October 27. Adriano Rangel reports.

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Egypt: Blogger Alaa Abd El Fattah Detained for 15 Days

Written by Amira Al Hussaini · Middle East & North Africa

Egyptian activist and blogger Alaa Abd El Fattah has been detained for 15 days, after refusing to be interrogated. He appeared at the Military Prosecutor, along with fellow activist Bahaa Saber, today as supporters gathered outside, denouncing military trials.

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Japan’s IT Exodus: A Personal Perspective (Part 1)

Written by Chris Salzberg · East Asia

37-year-old software architect Ryo Asai writes at his blog “Becoming a Master Programmer” about his reasons for leaving his previous job, a Japanese system integration company, to work at Amazon Japan. In explaining his reasons for the move, Asai provides a unique perspective on the underlying roots of Japan's failure to keep up in the new digital economy.

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Kyrgyzstan: There Is No Silence Day in Internet

Written by Elena Skochilo · Central Asia & Caucasus

Yesterday, October 29, was the so-called “Silence Day” in Kyrgyzstan, the last day before the presidential elections. At this day any political agitation is prohibited in the traditional media. But...

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29 October 2011

Trinidad & Tobago: Celebrating Anya's Project Runway Win

Written by Janine Mendes-Franco · Caribbean

The Trinidad and Tobago blogosphere has been extremely active over the past week as Season 9 of Lifetime's hit reality show, Project Runway, drew to a close. Home-grown design hopeful, Anya Ayoung-Chee eventually walked away with the coveted title of Season 9 designer.

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Brazil: Niobium, National Mineral Wealth at Knock Off Prices?

Written by Fernando Sapelli · Translated by Fernando Sapelli · Latin America

Niobium, also known as columbium, is among the most utilized metals in the world, and Brazil has the great majority of global deposits. However, exploitation of niobium within Brazil raises questions about the profits being generated.

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Yemen: VP Hadi Leaves to the US for Treatment!

Written by Noon Arabia · Middle East & North Africa

Today's main headline in Yemen was the sudden departure of Vice President Abdu Rabbu Mansoor Hadi to the US for medical treatment. Hadi's absence adds a new snag to the signing of the unpopular GCC deal, which Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh has been putting off for months. Noon Arabia has more.

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Updates from October, 2011

31 October 2011

Greece

Freelance journalist Kostas Kallergis started a blog in English about the Greek crisis, documenting on a daily basis various “small things that usually go unreported in the international press,” from graffiti in the streets of Athens to roundups of the local press coverage and historical analyses.

• Filip Stojanovski

Macedonia

Jovan Petrov provides an overview of the problem with the lead and zync smelting factory in Veles, after the court rejected a suit against the state from the municipality and local NGOs, demanding cleaning of pollution which will affect “10 generations to come” in this impoverished community.

• Filip Stojanovski

Pakistan

95% people use plastic bags in Pakistan and only 15% of these bags are properly disposed off, informs Rai Muhammad Azlan Shahid, while advocating for banning them.

• Rezwan

D.R. of Congo

DRC Elections Watch 2011: “In the afternoon of Sunday, October 30, with his wife Olive Lembe by his side, Joseph Kabila formally launched his electoral campaign in Kindu, in the Maniema Province, with a long speech in Swahili in front of thousands of his supporters.”

• Ndesanjo Macha

Cuba

babalu is appalled by a remark that Mariela Castro (director of Cuba's National Center for Sexual Education) makes in an interview with Radio Netherlands during a visit to the red light district in Amsterdam, saying: “[She] enjoys a hearty laugh at the expense of Cuban women who are forced to prostitute themselves by exchanging sex with construction workers in order to fix a bathroom because they have no money. The vile repulsiveness of the Castro dictatorship's elite cannot be made any clearer.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Cuba

Uncommon Sense learns that “ten members of the Laura Pollan Damas De Blanco…were among severa dissidents arrested in Santiago de Cuba as they tried to gather for Mass” yesterday morning.

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad & Tobago

Plain Talk suggests that the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago is abdicating its responsibility in light of the recent national broadcast of the rape of a child and the release of a soca song that “glorif[ies] and promote[s] human trafficking and sexual slavery”, saying: “Much of what is being passed off as culture and entertainment is in fact the prostituting of our women and children for profit. We need a return to decency in public life in how we interact, in what we say and in what we do if we are to turn this situation around.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad & Tobago

“I was struck by her looks of course and her flagrantly innovative personal style but complementing these was her personality, the warm intelligence of someone totally comfortable in her skin”: From Jamaica, Annie Paul blogs about Anya Ayoung-Chee, the Season 9 Project Runway winner, while back in Trinidad, Outlish asks about life post-Anya's win: “What will we do now?”

• Janine Mendes-Franco