Stories about Portuguese from April, 2011
Brazil: School Bullying and the Realengo Massacre
On 7 April 2011, twelve adolescents at the Tasso da Silveira City School in the west of Rio de Janeiro were shot dead. The culprit was ex-pupil, Wellington Menezes de Oliveira, 23, who then turned the gun on himself. The growing speculation about the killer’s profile, in both the blogosphere and traditional media, raised the issue of bullying in Brazilian society.
Portugal: Employment and Social Inclusion for the Physically Disabled
On the blog 52 Histórias (52 Stories) [pt], journalist Lúcia Crespo writes about Aristides Santos, a portuguese social entrepreneur who has been fighting against social exclusion through a business he created in 1995 to employ the physically disabled people.
Brazil: An e-Book to Understand Social Media
“Aiming to stimulate discussion and sharing of best practices related to the universe of social networks”, Brazilian journalist Ana Brambilla has launched the e-book “Para Entender as Mídias Sociais” (To Understand Social Media) [pt] free for download on the blog with the same name.
Brazil: LGBT Scene Under Discussion
With recent legal advances and a proposed bill that criminalises homophobia in the Brazilian Senate, cases of violence against LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) groups and expressions of prejudice and heterosexism have come under focus. The online arena has been used to expose many reflections on the right to sexual orientation in the country.
Brazil: Friends and Advocates of a Street Full of Trees
The Amigos da Rua Gonçalo de Carvalho‘s blog (Friends of Gonçalo Carvalho Street) [pt] explains how a group of people in Porto Alegre, Brazil, mobilized an advocacy campaign against the plan for a new development construction in that street. Gonçalo de Carvalho Street is nowadays considered historical, cultural, ecological and...
Memories of Portuguese Decolonization
“In their dreams they still revisit Africa”, and they share their memories on the blog Retornados da África [pt]. Read the stories of those who returned to Portugal from the African colonies, after the end of the dictatorship, on April 25th, 1974.
Brazil: Satire of Middle Class Problems
The satirical blog Classe Média Sofre (Middle Class Suffers) [pt], takes advantage of humour to expose the complaints of Brazilian middle class cybernauts about minor problems via social media. It was inspired by the blog White Whine which features daily updates on “first world problems”.
Brazil/Japan: Bridge Blogging Post-Earthquake News
“I read a post from a japanese blogger, I found it truly interesting and I decided to translate part of it”, said [pt] Satou Mihoko, who has decided to bridge japanese news to the portuguese speaking community, following the earthquake. Brazil is home to the largest Japanese population outside of...
Angola: Concern with Côte D'Ivoire
The volume of comment on this news story “Angola yet to react to the fall of Gbagbo” [Pt] reveals Angolan netizens’ significant concern with Côte D'Ivoire. Some lament rumors that Angolan mercenaries were killed needlessly in Côte D'Ivoire defending Gbagbo. Others suggest Gbagbo was victim of betrayal by other African...
Brazil: The Biggest Brazilian Newspaper Violates Labour Rights
The biggest Brazilian newspaper, Folha de São Paulo, violates labour rights for its journalists, says [pt] Altamiro Borges in his blog. Borges enumerates some of the “failures“: besides not having contracts, journalists are being underpaid or even not paid for working overtime.
Brazil: Reading Habits and Cultural Roots
Journalist and blogger Marcos Bahé criticizes [pt] a statement made by Luciano Siqueira, a State Deputy of the Communist Party, who said that Brazilians don't read much because of oral traditions inherited from indigenous and african ancestors. Bahé ironically adds that he thought it was because books are expensive.
Portugal: Squatting an Empty School in Porto
A group of citizens called ES.COL.A (school) [an acronymn for self-managed collective space] has occupied a Portuguese public school that had been abandoned by the municipality of Porto 5 years ago. Read the manifesto for the creation of a community center on their blog [pt], and find out about the legal...
Mozambique: Police Attack Protesting Workers
On the 6th of April, police officers from the Rapid Intervention Force (FIR) used violence to put an end to a protest by the employees of the private security firm G4S. On Facebook, cybernauts showed their indignation with such acts of brutality and questioned on the role of police, justice and human rights.
Brazil: The Wikicity of Porto Alegre
PortoAlegre.cc [pt] is a platform for “understanding, debating, inspiring and transforming [Porto Alegre]” based on the concept of Wikicity. The platform was designed in the Brazilian university Vale do Rio dos Sinos (Unisinos) as a way to ensure that everyone's “voices are heard to discuss concerns of the city.”
Brazil: Mapping a Traditional Music Instrument Online
Rabeca.org is an online project that aims to gather and present information about the Brazilian rabeca and Guanari rawé in a map with audio recordings, photos, texts and videos. The platform offers an opportunity to explore this fascinating instrument similar to a violin, but with a regional focus and tradition.
Angola: Monitoring the Use of the Internet
A “storm of criticism” has been raised in Angola following the discussion of a draft law on computer crime, says Mukelani Dimba, expert on right to information in Africa. Dozens of cybernauts have commented an interview [pt] where Mihaela Webba, lawyer and professor, clarifies the scope of the bill and...
Brazil: Was the shooting of Ricardo Gama politically motivated?
Controversial Brazilian blogger Ricardo Gama was shot in Rio de Janeiro on the March 24. Gama, a "forceful critic" of political power and police in Rio has already left the hospital and promises that his blog "won't change".
Video: Checking out the BOBs Video Channel Nominees
The Deutsche Welle International Blog Awards, known as The BOBs are one of the most important awards for content producers online. One of their 17 categories is the award for Best Video Channel and today we'll get to know a bit more about the 11 nominees to better cast your vote.
Brazil: Blood appeal for the victims of school shooting rampage
Bloggers support blood appeal to help the victims of the shooting rampage inside a school in Realengo, Rio de Janeiro, that echoed the Columbine High School massacre. Luiz Felipe Vasques [pt] says “it is time for solidarity, folks. We can ask why we only copy bad traits from North-Americans later”.
Brazil: Making the web accessible to the hearing impaired
Leonardo Leite, on the blog Stoa, writes [pt] about Poli-Libras – a software developped in the University of Sao Paulo that translates contextualized sentences in Portuguese language to 3D graphics in “Libras” – the Brazilian Sign Language. According to Leite, the goal of this tool is to promote web content...