Stories about Protest from April, 2010
USA: Rallying Cries for Immigration Reform
In the United States, immigration reform activists have taken to the streets - and the internet - in order to create momentum for comprehensive changes in immigration law.
Iran: Hard-line blogs got filtered
The hard-line, pro-Ahmadinejad “Rajanews” website has protested against the filtering of hard-line blogs.
Puerto Rico: Amidst protests, students speak up for themselves online
Amidst protests over budget cuts students of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) have a found an additional space to express themselves: the Internet.
Iran: A ‘Green’ Labor Day (At Least Online)
The Iranian Green Movement is planning to make International Workers Day on May 1 a “green” day. The post-election opposition movement has not held any important demonstration since their last attempts were thwarted in February.
Hong Kong: Vote in the coming election
Joyceyland comments on government arrangement of the coming Legislative council by-election and urges people to vote in this de facto referendum to express their desire for democracy.
Thailand: Online censorship amid protests
As Red Shirt protesters in Thailand continue to press their demand for the resignation of the Prime Minister, the government is also doing everything to weaken the protests, including the use of emergency powers to block TV stations, community radio stations, and websites that broadcast “subversive” stories.
Ukraine: Chaotic Ratification of the Gas-for-Fleet Deal
Below is some of the Anglophone blog commentary on the ratification of the Ukrainian-Russian gas-for-fleet deal, which took place in a chaotic environment on April 27 in Kyiv. Among other things, security guards were forced to employ two umbrellas to shelter the parliament speaker from the eggs hurled at him by opposition members.
Egypt: Gearing up for May 2 Protests
Egyptian blogger Zeinobia is urging her readers to mark May 2 on their calendars. A massive sit-in is being planned to call for a higher minimum wage in front of the Egyptian Cabinet. The official minimum wage has been LE35 ($6) for the last 26 years.
Japan: Remove the U.S. Marine Base From Ginowan
Martin from Kurashi blogs about the recent protest in Tokyo calling for the Japanese Parliament to remove the U.S. marine air base from Futenma, Okinawa in the city of Ginowan.
Ukraine: Russian Black Sea Fleet Stays On in Crimea
236 Ukrainian MPs (UKR) have voted in favor of the ratification of an agreement allowing the Russian Black Sea Fleet to extend its stay in Crimea until 2042. Ukrainska Pravda posts a selection of photos and video (UKR) of fighting and egg-throwing inside the parliament building this morning. On Twitter,...
Cuba: On Elections
Repeating Islands focuses on the Cuban elections here and here, while Generation Y explains why she has adopted “abstention as a form of protest.”
Kyrgyzstan: Keeping the Calm
The role played by online independent media organizations such as Kloop.kg is crucial to separating fact from disinformation in Kyrgyzstan.
“Boobquake” to challenge claims of Iranian cleric
A Purdue University student in the United States is asking women around the world to show a little cleavage or a little leg on Monday as a humorous test to disprove an Iranian cleric’s theory that immodest dress has the power to make the earth shake.
Cuba: Journalist Reportedly Detained
Human Rights Cuba says that “Dania Virgen García, independent journalist and member of the group who march in support of the Ladies in White, was detained and taken to the Police Station in Guanabacoa, accused of an arbitrary offense without probable cause.”
Russia: “The Sirens of Russia”
A Good Treaty posts a YouTube video of a Moscow driver's encounter with a high-ranking official's BMW and explains why “the special road status of the elite is a sore point with the Russian public.” (A few more related links in Russian are here.)
China: Tribute to the leader of 50 cent party
This afternoon (April 22) Wu Hao (伍皓), the deputy director of the Propaganda Department of the Party Committee of Yunnan Province had a talk in People's University. Before Wu started his talk, a 25-year-old netizen approached him and greeted him with a pile of 50-cent notes. According to online news...
Taiwan: Smart phone supplier's exploitative practice
Young Fast Optoelectronics (YFO), one of the biggest manufacturers of smart phone touch panel in the world, was recently accused by its trade union (YFOTU) of its exploitative working conditions and violation of labour law. According to the trade union blog, being a major supplier of the world's famous cell...
Bangladesh: Let Language Be Free
The Bangla blogosphere and Bangladeshi Facebook users are angry with protests as 'Avro', a freeware and one of the popular and widely used Bangla input systems, was accused as a pirated version of another proprietary Bangla input system 'Bijoy' and the Avro team was mentioned as hackers.
Costa Rica: Clashes Over Autonomy on UCR Campus
On April 12, 2010, Costa Rican police officers arrived to the University of Costa Rica to detain a campus transit officer, accused of corruption. However, members of the university community said that this attempted arrest goes against the university's status of autonomy, which led to clashes.
Cuba: Hunger Strikers
El Cafe Cubano links to a story which claims that imprisoned hunger striker Guillermo Fariñas is close to death, while Uncommon Sense reports that yet another Cuban political prisoner has started a hunger strike.
Bangladesh: National HR Policy for White Collars
Bangladesh Corporate Blog advocates for a ‘National HR Policy for White Collars’ in Bangladesh because, there is no specific Law for employees in the private sector.
