“Yes, the crime rate and garrison communities are atrocious. Yes, the decline in public morality is a cause for concern. But there are bright spots that shine beyond Jamaica's geographical boundaries”: Diaspora blogger Geoffrey Philp highlights one of them.
2 April 2012
Stories from 2 April 2012
Colombia: Lawmakers Rush Bill on Author Rights and Intellectual Property
On March 20, a bill was hurriedly presented to reform the legislative and regulatory framework of authors' rights and intellectual property as part of the government's implementation of the requirements for a Free Trade Agreement with the United States. Activists and citizens on social networks have rejected the lack of debate on what many are calling a new version of the "Lleras law."
Egypt: Your ID, Your Rights Targets Women
As many as 4 million Egyptian woman don't have ID cards, and as such cannot benefit from legal, social and economic services and rights. "Your ID, Your Rights" is a campaign which aims to cover 2 million women, providing them with ID cards, as well as create awareness online about the situation of such women and the importance of gender equality.
Announcing the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit in Nairobi, Kenya
We're delighted to announce the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit 2012! Our gathering takes place this year in Nairobi, Kenya on July 2-3, 2012, in partnership with Nairobi's iHub.
Nigeria: Online Furore Over #DominionAir
Why would the advent of another brand name into the Nigerian aviation space generate so much public discourse? It happens that this is no usual airline: it is alleged to be owned by a Nigerian Evangelical “prosperity” minister, Bishop David Oyedepo.
Kyrgyzstan: The Internet on Trial?
The ongoing trial of an ethnic Russian journalist accused of inciting racial hatred in a series of online articles may have profound implications for Kyrgyzstan's regulation of the Internet, as well as testing the neutrality of the country's moribund judicial system.
Russia: Online Petition Seeks to Increase Controls on Foreign-Funded NGOs
In late March 2012, less than three weeks after Putin's re-election to the Russian presidency, an online petition emerged, calling for stricter controls on foreign-funded Russian NGOs. Kevin Rothrock reports.
China Social Media Crackdown: 6 Arrested, 16 Websites Closed
News spread through the Chinese Internet on Saturday, March 31: six people had been arrested and 16 websites closed for “fabricating or disseminating online rumors". Violeta Camarasa reports.
Is Facebook Trying to Re-enter China?
Several local journalists and netizens spotted Mark Zuckerberg and his girlfriend, Priscilla Chan, in Shanghai on March 27. Once more, rumors spread like fire through the Internet: Is the king of social media working on Facebook's return to China?
Malaysia: Online Media to be Regulated Soon?
Speculation arose when the Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Tun Razak announced that amendments to the Printing Presses and Publications Act may also include a new law that will regulate the online media as well. To some, this may be the opposite of the progressive media reforms that Najib has promised last year.
I was given a harsher sentence here in America, Riverside County California by the new...