13 April 2012

Stories from 13 April 2012

Argentina: “I Don't Believe in Schools but I do Believe in Education”

  13 April 2012

Educacion Viva (Live Education) has released the first of their videos challenging traditional education systems, titled I Don't Believe in Schools but I do Believe in Education. In the subtitled video, more than 20 men and women read aloud a poem on the educational system and how it is different from what they believe education is.

Bangladesh: Welcoming Pahela Baisakh

  13 April 2012

Tomorrow is Pahela Baisakh (first day of summer, Bengali news year), the favorite festival of the Bengalis. Every year Bengalis celebrate their new year with galore. Wherever there are Bengalis in the world, they celebrate this day with different events.

Russia: Ilya Varlamov, Omsk's Blogger-Mayor?

RuNet Echo  13 April 2012

In the city of Omsk, a local activist group has arranged online primaries for opposition candidates, in order to nominate one for the city's June mayoral election. Popular Muscovite photoblogger Ilya Varlamov has emerged as the contest's front runner, but what impact could his candidacy have on regional politics?

Perspectives on North Korea's Unsuccessful Rocket Launch

  13 April 2012

North Korea launched a rocket on April 12, despite international warnings of censure and further isolation. But to its embarrassment, the rocket disintegrated right after the launch and its remnants fell into the sea. This incident stirred up numerous debates in the South Korean Internet.

Cuba: Camila Vallejo and Yoani Sánchez

  13 April 2012

During her visit to Cuba this week, for a meeting of the Union of Communist Youth, Chilean Student Federation leader Camila Vallejo declined an invitation to meet with acclaimed Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez. Vallejo generated much controversy on Twitter when she told CNN that she saw this as neither “necessary...

Cuba: The Visit of Camila Vallejo

  13 April 2012

David Vásquez Abella blogs at La Pupila Insomne [es] about Chilean student and communist youth leader Camila Vallejo‘s visit to Cuba this week for a meeting of Cuba's Union of Communist Youth. A leading member of the Confederation of Chilean Students, a group that has led massive demonstrations advocating for equal access to quality...

Cuba: Cyberfeminism in Havana

  13 April 2012

At En 2310 y 8225 [es] Cuba-based blogger Yasmín Portales writes of an upcoming academic symposium in Havana on ciberfeminismo, or “cyberfeminism.” Though glad to be participating, Portales questions the definition of the term, and the value of hypertext in relationship to analogue literature.

China: Social Mediascape

  13 April 2012

Michael Hurwitz of ChinesePod gave a very clear introduction of the Chinese social mediascape to encourage foreigners to interact with Chinese netizens. (via Tea Leaf Nation)

Guinea-Bissau: Coup d'Etat and the Angolan Military Mission

  13 April 2012

At nightfall on April 12, the military started yet another coup d'etat in Guinea-Bissau. In recent weeks, allegations of "generalized fraud" in the presidential elections, and the announcement of the withdrawal of the Angolan military mission in the country, had raised the tension levels in the military and political arenas.

Pakistan: Incessant Violence in Karachi

  13 April 2012

The bloodshed in Karachi, which has killed more than 300 people in the last three months, hasn't come to a halt. The common people of the city are extremely dejected by the present conditions of the city. The million dollar question is, ‘why does violence always returns in Karachi?'

Peru: What Is Killing the Dolphins?

  13 April 2012

The news that 3,000 dolphins have been found dead along the coastline of north Peru so far this year has shocked the world. Citizens and activists are using social networking sites to provide information and make people aware of these deaths so that the cause can be investigated.

Colombia: Photo Exhibit Creator Denounces Attack on Freedom of Expression

  13 April 2012

In the blog El Salmón [es], Carlos Alberto Castaño denounces [es] the confiscation by Bogotá police of his photo exhibition, “Realities, because the eye and the lens do not lie.” Castaño writes about violation of freedom of expression and political persecution due to the content of the gallery, where he denounces “the...