Stories about Digital Activism from December, 2011
Online Highlights from the Portuguese-Speaking World in 2011
2011 has been another year in which bloggers and activists from a number of Portuguese-speaking countries have come together to report, translate and promote blogs and citizen media from all over the world. This article selects the highlights in the coverage of Lusophone countries on Global Voices over the last year.
Chile: Neighbors and Netizens Unite to Save Concon Dunes
After 20 years of struggle against the construction of a real-estate project on a delicate and unique ecosystem called the Concon Dunes, neighbors and netizens have united their voices to continue the protest on the day the development company started closing in on this nature sanctuary.
China: Dairy Company's Website Hacked by Angry Netizens
The latest round of tainted milk scandals broke out last week in China. The country's biggest dairy producer, Mengniu Dairy Co., admitted that some of its milk products contained aflatoxin...
Egypt: A Letter from Maikel Nabil
No Military Trials for Civilians, a collective blog aimed at raising awareness about the military trial of civilians in Egypt, publishes a must read post by jailed Egyptian blogger Maikel...
India: Looking Back on 2011
Shashi Shekhar at Offstumped looks back on the year 2011 and finds that it has been anything but predictable.
India: A Letter to the Home Minister, Protesting Forced Eviction
William Gomes writes an open letter to the Union Home Minister, Mr.P.Chidambaram, protesting against the recent police action against campaigners who were holding a protest rally demanding the repeal of...
Macedonia: Twitter Hashtag for Prime Minister – #Ж
The Macedonian Twitter community is using the hashtag #Ж (uppercase of the Cyrillic letter romanized as Zh or Ž) as the shortcut symbol referring to the Macedonian PM. Filip Stojanovski explains why.
Russia: Moscow Election Committee Calls to Prosecute Popular Blogger
Moscow Election Committee had issued an official letter to the Prosecutor's office and the police to start an investigation of probable defamation against Oleg Kozyrev, one of the top Russian...
Russia: Social Network In-Between Security Services and Free Market
As social networks in Russia like Vkontakte play an ever increasing role in communication between post-election protesters, so too grows the interest of the security services to limit them. This conflict leads to a hard choice: whether Vkontakte should respond to security service requests, or allow its users uncontrolled protest activity.
Morocco: The Tale of the February 20 Movement in 20 Videos
A look back at how the Moroccan pro-democracy movement "February 20" has used videos, as very powerful and viral social media tool to get its message across. Hisham Almiraat shares a selection of the 20 most popular and viral videos that marked the course of the February 20 Movement over the past 10 months.
Egypt: Reaping Legal Victories as the Revolution Continues
Egyptians are reaping victories in the halls of courtrooms. First, blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah has been released by a judge pending investigations, after spending 56 days behind bars yesterday. Then, a court ruled today that conducting virginity tests on women in the custody of the military is illegal.
Russia: The Opposition in St. Petersburg Fails to Reach Understanding
December 2011 post-election protest events consist of two elements: 'professional oppositioners' and concerned citizens. In Moscow those two elements managed to get together. In St. Petersburg, however, the meeting was let down by one of the parties. Citizens responded with confusion and disdain.
Brazil: Murder or Suicide of Controversial Blogger?
Blogger Alexander Hamilton, 'the Mosquito', was found dead in his apartment in Brazil. According to the police, it was a case of "suicide by hanging." This quick conclusion, however, has not convinced his friends and family, who are demanding a rigorous investigation of the case.
Spain: Fighting for the Right to a Home
The housing bubble, the financial crisis, and high unemployment rates have left thousands of families without homes in Spain and the victims of foreclosures have names and stories to tell.
Ethiopia: Swedish Journalists Found Guilty of Terrorism Charges
The verdict against two Swedish journalists, Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson, detained in Ethiopia has caused strong reactions from defenders of press freedom. The judge in the case has called for a sentence of at least 15 years imprisonment to be handed down on 27 December.
Video Highlights: Protests, Elections, Culture and GV
A selection of Global Voices' recent and interesting stories including video from Middle East and North Africa, Sub Saharan Africa, Eastern and Central Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America, selected by Juliana Rincón Parra.
Russia: Opposition Faces Online Communication Problems
The ability to broadcast the events of December 2011 in Russia live online, has made people around the world and in the country the spectators of a truly historical event – the December 22 gathering of some 100-150 opposition activists, who represented thousands of the netizens and millions of not-connected Russians.
Russia: Phone Hacking Case Unites Opposition
The leaking of private phone conversations of a prominent Russian opposition leader to the media has given rise to many issues and left a lot of questions unanswered. Dmitry Davidov reports.
Armenia: Activists Demand Controversial Governor's Dismissal
Surik Khachatryan, the governor of Armenia's southern Syunik province, has been making headlines in the last month for all the wrong reasons. No stranger to controversy, activists are now demanding his dismissal.
Brazil: Blogging on the Archives of the Dictatorship
Journalist Niara de Oliveira published quotes [pt] from a selection of blogs that participated in the fourth blogging carnival #DesarquivandoBR (Unarchiving Brazil), that took place on December 14, on opening...
South Korean President's Vocal Critic Sentenced to Jail Term
Jeong Bong-ju, a vocal critic of the President and a show host of the nation's most popular satirical podcast, Naggomsu, was sentenced a jail term for raising allegations of BBK stock price manipulation...
