10 August 2012

Stories from 10 August 2012

Colombia: Gold for Cyclist Mariana Pajón

  10 August 2012

Colombians on Twitter anxiously awaited the performance of BMX cyclist Mariana Pajón. Hashtags like ORO (“gold”), #ÁnimoMariana (“Go Mariana”), or Mariana Pajón became local Trending Topics before and after Pajón won the gold medal. With this achievement, Colombia ratifies the country's historic performance at the this year's Olympics and now ranks...

Chile: Doubts Over Origin of Violence at Student Protests

  10 August 2012

Last Wednesday, August 8, 2012, thousands of students tried to march on the Alameda avenue in downtown Santiago in a non-authorized protest that ended up with three public transportation buses burnt. This caused the government to accuse students of fostering an environment for riots with their protests, while some protesters wondered if the thugs were actually part of a set-up.

Cuba: Freedom of Press?

  10 August 2012

Blogger, journalist and Global Voices author Elaine Díaz analyzes [es] the nuances of the different practices and definitions of freedom of press, after being interviewed for the Boston Globe.

Puerto Rico: Festival of the Hammock

  10 August 2012

Auralís Herrero-Lugo writes about her trip [es] with a group of friends to the town of San Sebastián, Puerto Rico, to go to the famous 32nd Festival of the Hammock, a traditional event where artisans show their amazing craft of making hammocks.

Cuba: Celaya on Payá

  10 August 2012

On Sin EVAsion [es], Havana-based Cuban blogger Miriam Celaya comments on the death of rights advocate Oswaldo Payá: “I did not share all of Payá’s points of view, I was even critical at times of…his proposals. I would be again; but I always respected the man who created them… […]...

Kirani James Delivers on Grenada's Olympic Dream

  10 August 2012

Earlier this week, Kirani James won the Gold Medal in the Men's 400 Metres race at the London Olympics with a time of 43.94, making him the first person from Grenada and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States to win an Olympic medal of any kind. The region celebrates.

Uruguay: Analyzing How Politicians Use Twitter

  10 August 2012

In his blog Curar Contenidos (“Curating Content”), Manuel Podetti is publishing a series of posts on “Uruguayan Politics and Twitter” [es]. His first two posts look at the most influential political parties [es] and politicians [es] on Twitter.

East Timor: Women's Network Continues Protest

  10 August 2012

Rede Feto (Women's Network) continues to protest the rejection of a woman candidate for Minister of Defense (our coverage), posting photos of women in East Timor's armed resistance on its Facebook profile and a “Declaration of Women Prisoners and Clandestine Fighters” demanding an explanation the rejection.

Somalia: The Very First Humanitarian “Customer Calling Center”

  10 August 2012

In her blog post about the very first humanitarian customer calling center, Anahi Ayala Iacucci describes “a quick and convenient way for Somali beneficiaries to give feedback about projects funded or services provided by the Danish Refugee Council using an SMS feedback system”: “This project has started in September 2011...

Should Singapore ‘Import’ Athletes to Win Olympic Medals?

  10 August 2012

The bronze medal victory of Feng Tianwei, a Chinese-born athlete who represented Singapore in the 2012 London Olympics, has ignited debate whether the Singapore government should exert more effort to develop local talent instead of simply 'recruiting' from other countries.