Global Voices · Citizen media stories from 2011 December 12

12 December 2011

Daily archive · 7 posts

Stories from 12 December 2011

Greece: TEDxAthens, The Art of Disruption

Written by Veroniki Krikoni · Western Europe

On Saturday 3 December, TEDxAthens 2011 took place in the Cultural Center of the Hellenic World; a 12 hour long, 23 speech marathon, it was organized and supported by 38 volunteers. This year's theme was 'The Art of Disruption'.

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Peru: Congress Approves Law Criminalizing Femicide

Written by Isabel Guerra · Translated by Betsy Galbreath · Latin America

The Peruvian Congress has approved the text of a law that recognizes femicide as a crime punishable by up to 25 years of incarceration. Under the existing law, the murder of a women can result in release from jail in about two years.

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Caucasus: Frozen Conflicts, Forgotten Lives?

Written by Onnik Krikorian · Central Asia & Caucasus

Marginalized by society and deprived of a voice by the mainstream media, can new media offer an alternative to refugees and IDPs in the South Caucasus?

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China: A Guangdong Village on the Verge of a Brutal Crackdown

Written by Oiwan Lam · East Asia

Illegal land acquisition has once again led to large-scale protests in Guangdong province, followed by a suspicious death and police crackdowns. One news commentator writes, "This is the first mass incident that has put forward a political agenda."

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Russia: Holy Relic Visits Nation Emerging From State-Sponsored Atheism

Written by Donna Welles · Eastern & Central Europe

People from across Russia traveled great distances and endured hardships in order to view the Virgin Mary's belt - a relic believed to promote fertility. In the decades since the fall of the USSR, religion has been reinventing itself in Russia.

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Poland: Netizens Debate Proposal to Re-Introduce Death Penalty

Written by Anna Gotowska · Eastern & Central Europe

The leader of Poland's largest opposition party has announced his support for re-introduction of the death penalty for "the gravest crimes." Although this announcement may be treated as a way to win over some voters, a huge debate on the subject has started nevertheless. Anna Gotowska reports.

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Southeast Asia: Crocodiles in the News

Written by Mong Palatino · East Asia

A giant crocodile in the southern Philippines and crocodiles in the flooded waters of Thailand and Cambodia were among the top news topics in Southeast Asia in the last quarter of the year. Here are some crocodile sightings and online reports.

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Updates from 12 December 2011

Sri Lanka

The Puppeteer shares her experience of going to Sri Lanka’s first 3D Movie Theatre.

• Rezwan

Ukraine

Odessablog's Blog argues against a recent idea by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry to have fans organize their own consular services for the upcoming Euro 2012 soccer championships in Ukraine.

• Vilhelm Konnander

Haiti

“I just don't get it. Why is it newsworthy that Kim Kardashian was in Haiti?”: Toussaint on Haiti “continue[s] to be baffled by the relative media silence around the effort of Haitians to hold the United Nations accountable” and asks: “How can we maintain attention on this issue until it gets the coverage that it deserves?”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaica

Jamaica Woman Tongue says of the new Prime Minister's choice of a December 29 election date: “If our PM/minister of education knew his history, he would never have dared to ‘mash up’ the holidays with politics. But ‘im young; im wi learn.’”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Puerto Rico (U.S.)

Gil the Jenius had his reservations about TEDx San Juan, but is pleased to report that it was “a rousing success.” Dondequiera adds that it was a day “of wonderful stories, passionately told.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Russia

Der Unbequeme turns a critical eye on [ger] the ongoing protests in Moscow against the results of parliamentary elections, arguing that protesters are few, divided, and that an actual OSCE-assessment of elections is still lacking.

• Vilhelm Konnander

Estonia

Giustino of Ithing for Eestimaa discusses Estonians' obsession with language - and especially their own as opposed to Russian - against the backdrop of a recent interview with the country's president Toomas Ilves.

• Vilhelm Konnander

Cuba

“In the long list of the words forbidden in my childhood, there were two in particular that were censored: ‘Christmas' and ‘Human Rights'”, writes Generation Y, explaining that Christmas has become acknowledged - unlike human rights; Uncommon Sense supports her claim by quoting “one of the island's preeminent human rights activists”, who says that “the first 10 days of December, culminating with International Human Rights Day on Saturday, saw a record round of repression in Cuba.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco