Stories about Freedom of Speech from April, 2007
Ukraine: Opposition Rally
Ukrainiana posts pictures from a recent opposition rally in Kyiv and writes: “As the rally drew to a close, it started raining lightly. A group of opposition supporters headed for the Counter-Maidan and streamed past it unobstructed, with 0.0 casualties. Sorry, Mr. Yanukovych, no civil war. Just a civil walk.”
Russia: More on Mstislav Rostropovich
Another personal reflection on Mstislav Rostropovich, written by an anonymous contributor to Robert Amsterdam's blog – “who as a young musician had the distinct honor of personally meeting the great Russian master.”
Russia: Mstislav Rostropovich
Megan Case shares a personal memory of Mstislav Rostropovich, who died in Moscow last week.
Arabeyes: On Selling a Palestinian Kidney and Changing the Israeli Flag
Do you want to know why a Palestinian wants to sell his kidney, or what had happened to the bicycle of a Lebanese blogger on September 10, 2001? What is more difficult: returning home after living abroad for five years or demanding that Israel changes its flag just as the Kurds want to change the Iraqi flag? And last but not least: why does Ala'a Abdulfattah - the Godfather of Egyptian bloggers - say he isn't and was never a blogger? To know more, read on.
Serbia: Blogosphere Reacts to Protect Press Freedom
Two hand grenades were placed on a window sill of Serbian journalist Dejan Anastasijevic's apartment on Saturday, April 15. The explosions caused material damage but no injuries. There were numerous comments about who might have stood behind the attack. Bloggers started a petition requesting prompt reaction of the police for the sake of press freedom.
China: Please, no more rural healthcare propaganda!
Chris O'Brien from Beijing Newspeak blogged about the editorial process of a Xinhua article about China rural healthcare system: it was immensely frustrating that the story had to go through four revisions before all of them (opinions) were included in the story.
China: Prison Break
Joel Martinsen from DANWEI has translated a BBS post, Musings on the Chinese version of Prison Break, which addressed the question: how would a Chinese Prison Break be adapted so that it would pass the TV censors?
Egypt: Worldwide Free Kareem Rallies
A series of rallies were held worldwide to draw attention to jailed Egyptian blogger Kareem Nabil Suliaman, who have been sentenced to four years in prison for insulting both Islam and Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. Supporters gathered in Berlin, Germany, the United Kingdom, Bucharest, Romania, Stockholm, Sweden, Washington DC, US...
Egypt: Sandmonkey Quits Blogging
Egyptian blogger Sandmonkey is hanging his boots and calling it quits. “One of the chief reasons is the fact that there has been too much heat around me lately. I no longer believe that my anonymity is kept, especially with State Secuirty agents lurking around my street and asking questions...
Kuwait: When Our Only Tourist Attraction is a Shopping Mall
With the summer temperatures soaring, life in Kuwait revolves around air-conditioned shopping malls, reports Abdullatif Al Omar. Follow the arrows to read bloggers' reactions to why else a foreign head of state is treated to a visit to a mall; friends meet in malls and a boat show is held there.
Egypt: Freedom of Speech Campaign
Egyptian blogger Nora Younis wonders why free speech ends people in prison in her country as she spearheads a campaign for freedom of speech. “Egyptian pro-democracy activists and bloggers are facing various forms of prosecution everyday,” she explains.
Serbia: Ganja March
Belgrade 2.0 writes about the upcoming “Global Ganja March” in Belgrade.
Estonia: “A Russian Rebellion”
As Tallinn seems to have entered the second night of rioting over the removal of a Soviet war memorial, here's a blogger's recap (with photos, RUS, by LJ user mrprophet) of what happened the previous night: A Russian rebellion Today I've been to a true Russian rebellion, senseless and relentless....
Bahrain: Mahmood's Den Fourth Anniversary
The Godfather of Bahraini bloggers Mahmood Al Yousif marks his blog's fourth anniversary with a gift to his readers.
Kurdistance: A Week Like Any Other
The news coming out of the Kurdish blogs this week is as varied as the landscape of Kurdistan itself. From predictions on Syrian Kurd alliances with Israel, to censorship in Turkey; from explorations of Northern Iraq, to essays on intolerance, the Kurdish bloggers cover it all. But for this week, I think we will begin with why, to Kurds, April is considered as the "Bride of the Year".
Afghanistan: Fourth Estate in the Balance
Safrang reports that Afghanistan's parliament is debating a bill that would further erode the diminishing freedom that Afghanistan's media enjoys.
Russia: Pieces by Illarionov and Gevorkyan
La Russophobe posts two translations: pieces by Andrei Illarionov and Natalya Gevorkyan.
Russia: Media Freedom
There're 32 comments to Sean Guillory's post on a Russian radio station that seems to have become “exactly” like Fox News in the U.S.
Russia: Kasparov's Foreign Funding
As the Kremlin begins looking for Gary Kasparov's foreign sponsors, Sean's Russia Blog reports that a reporter for an expat paper in Moscow may have already completed the job.
Syrian Independence Day and Elections
Syria celebrated it's independence and Parliamentary elections with a lot of official fanfare, but very little excitement from bloggers as a reported two per cent of the constituents turned up at the polling stations. Yazan Badran sums up the reactions as bloggers debate the results and updates us about the jailing of a prominent human rights lawyer.
Taiwan: Youtube Censors anti WTO Protest Video
Blasts found out (zh) that Youtube has categorized an anti-WTO protest documentary as not suitable for viewers under 18: “This video may contain content that is inappropriate for some users, as flagged by YouTube's user community. To view this video, please verify you are 18 or older by logging in...
