13 August 2012

Stories from 13 August 2012

Russia: Egyptian Graffiti Artist on Freedom for Pussy Riot

RuNet Echo  13 August 2012

Egyptian political activist and graffiti artist Ganzeer writes [en] about the Pussy Riot case: “[…] the consequences of freeing Pussy Riot may be mistaken for a fair and liberal Russian judiciary system, which is clearly not the case. […] Pussy Riot's actions are all about exposing the reality of Russia's...

Nicaragua: A Blogger's Olympic Dream

  13 August 2012

Mildred Largaespada from the blog 1001 trópicos [es] shares her “Olympic dream.” In 1984, Mildred was part of Nicaragua's National Junior Basketball Team and participated in the Central American Games of that year in Guatemala. Her dream was to make it to the Olympics, but after losing in Guatemala she...

Uganda: Against Odds, Gay Pride Events Take Place in Entebbe

  13 August 2012

Uganda attracted worldwide attention in 2009 when a member of parliament introduced the so-called "Kill the Gays" bill criminalizing same-sex relations, and again earlier this year, when LGBT activist David Kato was found murdered. But that didn't stop Uganda's LGBT community from holding the country's first Gay Pride events earlier this month in Entebbe.

Athens: Virtual Community Initiative Under the Acropolis

  13 August 2012

Shop owners on picturesque Pandrosou street in Plaka, Athens, have started a virtual community initiative with a blog and Facebook page. They aim to “rebrand the image of Greece into one that reflects collaborative cooperation, innovation and honest hard work”. With their most recent project, they hope to inspire others to reclaim the beauty of pedestrian...

China's New ‘Black Five’ Categories – Social Threat or Core Strength?

  13 August 2012

During the Cultural Revolution in China, the term 'Five Black Categories' was used as a political label for cracking down on five social and political groups. Recently Chinese state media revived the political labels to describe human rights lawyers, underground churches and religions, dissidents, online opinion leaders and social minorities.

Africa: Moving Beyond the Resource Curse

  13 August 2012

Why is it that African nations endowed with many natural resources such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria or Madagascar to name a few are also plagued with endemic poverty? This is the paradox of the resource curse, which has blighted many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Russia: Church, Lies, & Opulence

RuNet Echo  13 August 2012

A controversial photo blog post recently documented the 70th jubilee of the director of a Church-owned factory, striking a raw nerve in a society charged by the Pussy Riot trial. The details of the affair speak to the ease of creating a narrative through the withholding of information -- particularly online.