Stories about Freedom of Speech from July, 2006
Uzbekistan: Revoked Licenses
The Long and Winding Road has a report on Uzbek pop musicians losing their licenses to perform in public after a journalist accused their lyrics of not being authentic Uzbek poetry and them of being bad musicians.
DRC: Post-Election Roundup
“A Peaceful Election” Congolese at the polls. Photo by Federico, courtesy of Extra Extra. By and large, the voting has ended in the DRC, according to The Salon: With the exception of the three towns that had to continue/report the voting for today, due to numerous arsons (Mbuji-mayi, Mweka and...
Zimbabwe: Morgan Tsvangirai speech
Eddie Cross on Zimpundit posts in its entirety the speech given by former union leader and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to a National Convention held by Churches in Zimbabwe Saturday to debate the crisis in the country, and the way forward.
China: reticence: would-be lesbians, corporate executives and urban journalists
Ever wonder why there was no male version of 2004's smash television phenomenon Super Girl? While a lesbian conspiracy might have made for better Communist Party PR positioning than news of yet another great initiative cut down by state censorship, super-adrogynous and super-popular Super Girl winner Li Yuchun‘s queer image...
Power of Blogs
Desipundit on the global impact of the Indian blogosphere: "while it is true that it’s only a small part of Indian population that is online, and even smaller number accesses blogs, when it comes to the online world, Indian blogs are windows, potholes and doors into India."
Iran: Batebi was arrested
According to Ikna, Ahmad Batebi, activist student was arrested again [Fa]. Batebi had already spent six years in jail to participate in a student protest movement. His wife is going to start a hunger strike in front of United Nations office in Tehran.
China: the chinese blog guidebook
Jason Li introduces the newly published chinese blog guidebook titled as Everyone Plays with Blogs.
Russia, Ukraine: Stories About Words
Below is the translation of three stories about words: in the first one, they are being banned; in the second, they offend; in the third, there aren't enough of them. LJ user plushev, a Russian radio journalist, writes (RUS) about the government's attack on the name of the controversial National...
Nepal: Another Round Of Talks
The seven party alliance in power and the Maoists are gearing for yet another round of peace talks. Their last round that resulted in an eight point agreement came under much fire from various quarters.
DRC: Last Minute Campaigning and Complaining
As Sunday's presidential election approaches, and the campaign period closes today, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) bloggers chronicle last minute campaigning and complaining by some of the 30 or so candidates and other actors. Candidates’ Backgrounds Prince du Fleuve du Congo continues a debate with Christian Geraud about Joseph Kabila...
China: spoofing culture
Lyn Jeffery in Virtual China blogs about spoofing culture in Chinese internet sphere and translates an article from QQ discussing whether spoofing can prevent social tragedies. Spoofing is a popular subculture that deconstructs serious themes to entertain people with comedy effects.
Martinique, France: Tribu Ka Suspended
France's Council of Ministers recently decided to dissolve Tribu Ka, a Black nationalist French group, accusing it of anti-semitism. French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy claims the group posted a graphic of a chimpanzee holding a star of David on their website. Martinique's Le Blog de [Moi] agrees (Fr) that Tribu...
Malaysia: Online Freedom
Malaysian opposition politician Lim Kit Siang is asking the Prime Minister to give assurance that online media would not be censored in Malaysia. The call comes after the Prime Minister and other cabinet ministers made negative comments about blogs and online media in general.
China: century China
The famous mainland Chinese BBS websites Century China forum and lifeweek BBS were closed down almost at the same time (25 of July 2006). The later is set up by Joint publishing company which focuses on the publication of intellectual thinking. Mongee in Soho Xiaobao feels very pity about the...
China: blogging
wzp in ofblog has an evaluation of the impact of blogging in China and describes 2005 – 2006 summer as the hottest year. He claims that blogging has smashed the monopoly of hegmonic discourse and changed the tragetory of journalism (zh) . However, after the summer, winter follows (zh) ,...
Belarus: Blogosphere Digest
TOL's Belarus Blog posts a “Belarusian blogosphere digest” for July 18-26.
Belarus: A Youth Movement and Other Enemies
TOL's Belarus Blog writes about a new oppositional youth movement, Bunt, and the current regime's actions against its activists. Also, there's an entry about an attack on a Latvian diplomat in Minsk.
Somaliland, Somalia: Journalistic criticism
Guest-blogging on the Voice of Somaliland Diaspora, Faysal Diriye launches an attack on journalistic standards among Somali Web sites which he describes as Siadist. “Cheap shot journalism! Too subjective, too emotional, and as boring as hell! They often shed more tears than thunder clouds could spill,” he writes.
Poland: “Rightwards Shift”
Europhobia suspects something wrong may be taking place in Poland's politics.
DRC: As Elections Approach, the Congo's Bloggers Discuss Recent Violence, Media Repression and the Limits of Foreign Aid
With the July 30th elections just days away, many pro-opposition Congolese bloggers remain deeply cynical about the prospects of a free, fair and peaceful electoral process. Violent repression of opposition demonstrations and the killing of several journalists in the last few months have left many wondering whether, even if successful,...
China: Cameras, drunks and forced website closures
Kimbo Hu/Hu Defu, a well-known Taiwanese aboriginal folk musician gave a performance at a small bar in Beijing this past weekeknd. In attendance were many prominent bloggers, and here is Ycul blogger Reading Storeroom‘s account of the show, along with the problems he sees as more and more Chinese purchase...
