Global Voices · Citizen media stories from 2012 December 04

4 December 2012

Daily archive · 9 posts

Stories from 4 December 2012

Anti-Fascism Unites Hungary

Written by Marietta Le · Eastern & Central Europe

Thousands of Hungarians stood united at a rally in Budapest on Sunday. Politicians from the ruling and opposition parties were there, too. The public debate on the far right gaining more and more support in Hungary has been re-opened - and, to some extent, it has united the Hungarian nation.

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Remembering the Night the Russian Opposition Would Prefer to Forget

Written by Kevin Rothrock · Eastern & Central Europe

Yesterday, The New Times published a retrospective on last winter's mass protests, highlighting how the Internet played a vital role in mobilizing thousands of people in a city that, until then, could only produce a few hundred demonstrators at a time. The middle class, the youth, and the technophiles of Moscow had awakened and the possibilities seemed endless. Then came the schism.

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Trinidad & Tobago: What Direction For Creative Industries?

Written by Matthew Hunte · Caribbean

As the government moves to merge various creative entities (film, fashion, theatre, dance, the visual arts and Carnival) under the purview of one company - the Trinidad & Tobago Creative Industries Company (TTCIC) - some local filmmakers are sceptical about the plan, especially since it seems to be going forward without stakeholder consultation.

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Ecuadorian Blogger Paúl Moreno is Freed

Written by Daniela Gallardo · Translated by Nina Shield · Latin America

Ecuadorian blogger Paúl Moreno had been arrested on November 30, 2012, on charges of fraudulent access to computer systems and databases, after he demonstrated that the government website datoseguro.gov.ec lacks adequate security mechanisms for obtaining data on its citizens. Moreno was released on December 3.

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Brazil: Humanities Students Claim Right to Study Abroad

Written by Emmanuelle Leroy Cerqueira · Translated by Melissa Mann · Latin America

The announcement to exclude the humanities in the new government notice outlying the official rules for application to the federal program to send Brazilian university students abroad, Ciência Sem Fronteiras (Science Without Borders), published November 20, 2012, infuriated a number of students who have created an online campaign to reverse the decision.

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Australia: Plain Cigarette Packaging a World First

Written by Kevin Rennie · Oceania

Australia’s new plain cigarette packaging law, which began on December 1, 2012, was greeted with pleasure by most onliners. Meanwhile, the tobacco industry has argued that plain packaging will increase illegal trade and smuggling.

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Slovenia's New President Elected Amidst Anti-Corruption Protests

Written by Veronica Khokhlova · Eastern & Central Europe

The second round of the 2012 presidential election in Slovenia, in which the former Slovenian PM Borut Pahor defeated the incumbent president Danilo Türk, took place on Dec. 2, amidst ongoing mass protests.

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Have M23 Rebels Really Left Goma, DRC?

Written by Rakotomalala · Sub-Saharan Africa

Backed by the Rwandan government, M23 rebels seized control of the city of Goma in the Kivu region, near the Rwandan border. Despite reports that the rebellion have agreed to pull out of Goma, it seems that there is still a great deal of uncertainty over when they will effectively do so.

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Iran: Sanctions and Shortages, Empty Pockets for Healthcare

Written by Arseh Sevom · Middle East & North Africa

Ever since 15 year-old Manouchehr Esmaili-Liousi died of complications from hemophilia due to a shortage of medication, Iranians have been analyzing their health crisis. Sanctions definitely play a role, but so does incompetence and corruption by their own government.

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Quick Reads from 4 December 2012

Chinese Writer Foresees the Future of China in Social Media

Prominent writer and critic of censorship in China Murong Xuecun sees great potential in Chinese social media in pushing for a more democratic China. He tweeted on Nov 28[zh], translation here:

In the 1980s, because of the limited power of the government, China experienced unprecedented prosperity in culture and thought, but one major event ended everything. Today in the microblogging era, we have become a lot more open within a few years, surpassing the 80s. People not only talk about the concepts of democracy and freedom, but also work pragmatically, they fight for their own rights. It can be asserted that, within a few years, the microblogging era will have in its own major event, which will be a big test for China.

Abby

2012 China Internet Report

How is Internet in China different from the rest of the world? IDG Captial Partners, a China-focued investment company offered us a glimpse into the internet situation in China in its 2012 China Internet White Paper.

Abby

Crossing the Colombia-Venezuela Border

The Colombo-Venezuelan border is a two-faced, majestic beauty burdened by the protracted armed conflict in Colombia, the massive drug trade, and the illegal armed groups that enter and leave both countries as if there were no immigrations controls in a European-like fashion. The palm trees and false calm that may appear on the way from Cúcuta to San Cristóbal at seven in the morning can mislead one into thinking this land is peaceful.

Jonathan Pfaehler recounts his experience crossing the Colombia-Venezuela border in a guest post for the blog Caracas Chronicles.

Silvia Viñas

Bulgarian Activist on Hunger Strike Against State Monopoly

On Dec. 1, Chavdar Yanev set up a tent in front of the Bulgarian Supreme Judicial Council in Sofia and went on hunger strike to protest a judicial system that allows cases filed by individuals against state institutions to continue for years. Or even decades: Yanev and his wife, Latinka Georgieva, have been in a legal battle against Toplofikatsiya [bg], a state monopoly that provides heating to the country's residents, for nearly 12 years [bg].

A flashmob in solidarity with Yanev, organized via Facebook group “We are against high prices for electricity” [bg] (more than 3,000 members), is scheduled for Dec. 4.