Stories from 25 April 2012
Puerto Rico: Student Detained After Performance Deemed “Indecent”
Charlene Jane González de Jesús, a student at the University of Puerto Rico, was detained by state police last Thursday, April 19 at the institution's Río Piedras campus after taking her top off in public as part of a performance art piece in protest of gender inequality. The case has ignited intense debate on blogs and social media networks.
Cuba: Hopeless Information?
“Information in Cuba is hopeless,” says Bad Handwriting, but she thinks it can be helped.
Cuba: Resorting to Hunger Strike
Cuban netizens, primarily from the diaspora, are once again blogging about instances of police abuse in the country and how the island's justice system routinely makes hunger-strikers out of prisoners of conscience.
South Africa: Netizens Weigh In on Fall of Controversial Politician
Netizens weigh in on the expulsion of the controversial South African politician and the former President of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL), Julius Malema, from the ruling African National Congress (ANC).
Do Arab Men Hate Women? Mona Eltahawy Faces Firestorm
Egyptian-American columnist Mona Eltahawy has once again sparked controversy with an article in Foreign Policy magazine entitled “Why Do They Hate Us?”, in which she argues that Arab societies are fundamentally misogynistic.
South Korea: Youtube Video Accusing Samsung of Labor Workers Death
While Apple factory workers’ suicides are widely known, not enough data on Samsung's labor workers is available online. A Youtube user posted a video entitled “Samsung's Truth” with English subtitles explaining how labor workers suffered under the biggest corporations in South Korea.
South Korea: International Media Coverage on Continuing Attacks on Stanford Grad Singer
It has been over years several net users harassed a famous rapper named Tablo by questioning his Stanford diploma to the point of almost ruining his career. A Wired.com article presented evidences that the rapper did not lie about his education record. ROK Drop blog approached this case from the...
Italy: Rome Celebrates its 2,765th Anniversary
On April 21, Romans celebrated the 2,765th anniversary of their city. Bloggers weigh in on the celebrations and the meaning of the milestone for the Eternal City.
Armenia: Does the world need to recognize the Armenian Genocide?
Following this week's 97th anniversary of the 1915 massacre and deportation of Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire, vgratian asks its readers “Does the world need to recognize the Armenian Genocide?”
China: State Owned Enterprises
Ministry of Tofu translated an infographic comparing the status of state-owned enterprises with the private-owned enterprises in China.
Accused of Molesting Children, Iranian Diplomat Leaves Brazil
An Iranian diplomat based in the capital of Brazil, Brasilia, was accused of molesting underage girls at a swimming pool on April 14, 2012. While Iran's embassy denied the allegations, and said they were the result of a "cultural misunderstanding", netizens both from Iran and Brazil didn't take long to react.
China: Toxic Medicine Capsules Dumped into Open Sewage
Upon the unveiling of the toxic medicine capsules scandal, a large quantity of empty medicine capsules was dumped into an open sewer ditch in Zhengzhou city, Henan province. (more from ChinaSMACK)
Madagascar: Rare Deposit-Rich Land Sold to French-German Group
French group Rhodia and German company Tantalus announced the signing of a Letter of Intent to exploit a 300 km-long region filled with rare deposits [fr] in the Ampasindava peninsula in the North-West of Madagascar. The group expects to produce 15,000 tons a year within the next 18 months, a total...
Chile: Erasing Graffiti from Historic Valparaíso
In online citizen newspaper El Martutino [es], Paula Pérez reports that every Saturday until May 26 citizens and various institutions will come together to clean graffiti from the walls of the historic quarter of Valparaíso, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
China: New vBlog Weibo Today
Blogger Elle Lee launched its new vBlog Weibo Today a month ago, a weekly online show in English about the hottest topics on China's social networks.
