Global Voices · Citizen media stories from 2011 November 16

16 November 2011

Daily archive · 7 posts

Stories from 16 November 2011

Russia: Hidden Camera Reveals Illegal Electioneering in School

Written by Alexey Sidorenko · Eastern & Central Europe

A scandal caused by a hidden camera recording at a school in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, has highlighted a serious problem in Russian schools: teachers campaigning for the ruling United Russia party.

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Peru: Reflecting on Anti-Mining Protests

Written by Juan Arellano · Translated by Silvia Viñas · Latin America

Peruvian bloggers reflect on recent protests and social conflicts related to environmental problems caused by mining, and the influence these problems might have on the future actions of the government of President Ollanta Humala.

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Kuwait: Video Campaign to Teach Citizens about the Constitution

Written by Mona Kareem · Middle East & North Africa

To mark the 49th anniversary of the Kuwaiti constitution, a group of activists decided to remind citizens of the different clauses of the constitution. Under the theme of Tadry [ar] (Did you know?), Sout Al-Kuwait (Voice of Kuwait) produced six videos, each spanning a few seconds, explaining to citizens six select articles from the constitution.

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Zambia: Porn Video Sparks Debate on Gender, Culture and Morality

Written by Gershom Ndhlovu · Sub-Saharan Africa

A video clip of a young female student at one of Zambia’s expensive colleges having sex with her boyfriend has surfaced on a hardcore pornography website. The case has generated a lot of debate online about culture, morality and gender in the country.

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Egypt: Commemorating 40 Years of Pope Shenouda on Twitter

Written by Tarek Amr · Middle East & North Africa

Egyptian Copts, among others, decided to criticize Pope Shenouda III on the occasion of his 40th Ordination anniversary. The anniversary coincided with the end of the 40 day mourning period after the Maspero massacre, where 27 Egyptians, mostly Coptic Christians, were killed.

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China: Photo Captures Plight of 58 Million ‘Left Behind Children'

Written by Oiwan Lam · East Asia

A photo showing a little girl caring for her baby brother in a classroom in rural China has caused an online stir. It reflects the country's long-standing social problem of children who are left behind by their parents going to work in the cities.

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Russia: FC Anzhi Makhachkala and the Yeltsin Era Money

Written by Donna Welles · Eastern & Central Europe

The January 2011 acquisition of a Russian Premier League soccer team, FC Anzhi Makhachkala, by Suleyman Kerimov, a billionaire politician native to the volatile region of Dagestan, is the most recent display of how the wealth accumulated in the Yeltsin era is being used. Donna Welles reports.

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Updates from 16 November 2011

Guinea

Alimou Sow lists 10 rules [fr] for flirting in Conakry in his blog entitled ‘Ma Guinée Plurielle': “Like everywhere else, flirting in Conakry follows rules which evolve over time. Here are 10 of them, drawn from a small sample survey and expanded upon through my own personal experience. Guys: get ready, get set and get flirting!”

• Abdoulaye Bah

Brazil

A new movement called Gota D'Água (Drop of Water) [pt] has launched an online campaign to discuss Brazil's energy planning through the analysis of the Belo Monte dam project. The campaign includes a video featuring public figures and a petition, that has already gathered 1923 signatures, to be handed over to the government.

• Sara Moreira

Cuba

Bloggers question the approach of the Catholic Church in Cuba here and here, while Pedazos de La Isla reports on recent crackdowns on dissidents, here and here.

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad & Tobago

Plain Talk explains why he thinks that Trinidad and Tobago needs a National Bullshit Council.

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Bermuda

Respice Finem comments on the de-occupation of Wall Street, here.

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Haiti

Stanley Lucas has a few questions about a court case that is seeking to compensate Haitian cholera victims, saying: “At worst, it seems an opportunistic attempt to capitalize on a tragic situation for fund raising purposes. What is equally concerning is [the] approach to this challenge. Rather than offer the Haitian Government the technical and legal support to file and organize this case, [they] circumvented the government and pursued this project on [their] own. This has been exactly the approach that has resulted in the failure of foreign aid in Haiti.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad & Tobago

B.C. Pires comments on a fracas that broke out, allegedly among rival gang members, at the launch of a government project: “It would be shocking if it wasn’t par for the course. The shameless use of the UNC-yellow-like orange in the attempt to, um, curry the favour of the semi-literate/fully violent.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Cuba

Havana Times reports on the celebration of an outdoor mass this past weekend “in honor of the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, considered by Catholics to be the ‘Patron Saint of Cuba'”, explaining: “Next year will mark the 400th year since the discovery of the image; it seems that this important anniversary is what made Pope Benedict XVI decide to visit the island next year.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Honduras

The National Popular Resistance Front (FNRP for its initials in Spanish) has formed a new political party called Libre (short for Libertad y Refundación, “Freedom and Refoundation”). The blog Honduras Culture and Politics explains how the party was founded and provides an English translation of its declaration of principles.

• Silvia Viñas

Chile

Robert L. Funk blogs about the recently elected president of the Catholic University Student Federation (FEUC), Noam Titelman. Titelman belongs to “the same political faction as the outgoing president, Giorgio Jackson”, Robert explains.

• Silvia Viñas