Stories about Freedom of Speech from October, 2008
Corporations Agree to Standards for Internet Freedom
The Global Network Initiative has been launched. The Initiative is a code of conduct for corporations on privacy and free speech created by a coalition of human rights, media development and research organizations, and Internet and communications companies such as Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft. Its goal: to ensure that ICT...
Cuba, U.S.A.: Voting on the Embargo
The United Nations General Assembly yesterday approved a resolution condemning the U.S. embargo. For the seventeenth year running, the vote went in favor of the Cuba-sponsored resolution and bloggers - from the diaspora and from Cuba herself - have had a lot of say on the subject.
Jordan: News Sites Banned in Municipality Offices
Greater Amman Municipality staff will not be able to access news sites from their work computers, reports The Black Iris, from Jordan.
Malaysia: Press freedom ranking
Screenshots writes about the low ranking of Malaysia in Reporters Without Borders’ Press Freedom Index.
Thailand will ban websites that attack monarchy
Thailand plans to ban websites that attack or defame its monarchy.
Russia: “Help Svetlana Bakhmina” Petition
As of now, 71,250 people have signed an online petition appealing to the Russian president to pardon Svetlana Bakhmina, a former senior lawyer for Mikhail Khodorkovsky's oil company Yukos, who was arrested in December 2004 and sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison for embezzlement and tax evasion in April 2006.
Barbados: MSM & Democracy
Barbados Underground says that “the current fast food diet of journalism being served up by the local media” poses a threat to the country's democracy.
Bangladesh: Liberal Voices on the rise
Bangladeshis usually have strong political views and tend to lean towards a party of their choice. Many of them ‘religiously’ follow the dictations and deliberations of their leaders. However, An ordinary citizen reports that the voices of the liberal citizens’ groups are growing in Bangladesh.
Russia: Kozlovsky Wins Human Rights Award 2008
Oleg Kozlovsky writes about receiving the Human Rights Award 2008.
Japan: Arrested in Shibuya just for walking?
id:inumash comments on news [ja] that three people heading a demo in Shibuya (Tokyo) on Oct. 26th with the intention of going to “see the home of PM Taro Aso” were arrested for not having notified police beforehand [ja]. The blogger points to an article by Amamiya Karin [雨宮処凛] [ja]...
Morocco: Barça Fan Jailed for Superlative Statement
Many bloggers were shocked last week to learn that a young Moroccan man had been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for what seemed like such a minor "crime." The young man, a Barça (FC Barcelona, a soccer team) fan, allegedly wrote “God, Nation, Barça” on the blackboard at his school. Morocco's motto is "God, Nation, King."
Jamaica, U.S.A.: Political Differences
Voting on Amendment 8 gets Jamaican diaspora blogger Geoffrey Philp thinking about “the difference between American and Jamaican politics.”
China: “Criminal” with Human Rights Award
Last week (Oct 23) it was announced that the European Parliaments’ Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought has been awarded to Chinese political activist Hu Jia. On the other hand, China government expressed its anger and disappointment at the European Union decision, insisting Hu was a criminal, and described the...
Turkey: Blogspot.com Banned
In another long string of website services blocked in the Republic of Turkey, yet another blog service has been blocked Blogger/Blogspot.com. A court in Diyarbakir Turkey has banned Blogger in relation to an intellectual property infringement case. Adam Klempner, translates some of the Turkish bloggers' reactions.
Turkey: Blogger.com Blocked
Blogger.com is now blocked in Turkey, announces TurkeyTalk. This follows the blocking of WordPress and YouTube, following court orders.
Malaysian Media Council: Double handcuffs or media freedom?
Amidst a number of recent journalistic blunders, Malaysia’s Home Minister, Syed Hamid Albar, announced that the government has full intention of establishing a national media policy, together with a regulatory body over Malaysian media. Syed Hamid said that that a policy is currently being drafted and also that the foundations...
Jamaica: Inaccurate Ranking?
My View of JamDown from Up So writes an open letter to Reporters Without Borders, saying he was “disturbed at the high (press freedom) rank of Jamaica in comparison what most people here acknowledge to be reality.”
Cuba: Categorizing
Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez refuses to be labeled.
Cuba: Ties That Bind?
Steven's Cuba Blog and Havana Times report on the formal resumption of ties between the European Union and Cuba, while Child of the Revolution adds: “the Cubans say they are happy to restart an open and constructive dialogue with the EU – on the Cubans’ terms, of course, which essentially...
Nigerian Blogger Arrested For Sponsoring a ‘Guerilla News Agency’
Nigerian blogger, Jonathan Elendu, has been arrested by the State Security Service (SSS), the federal security enforcement agency in Nigeria. Jonathan Elendu created Elendu Reports in 2005. It is an online news site focusing on federal corruption, economic mismanagement and government inefficiency.
Croatia: More on Ivo Pukanić's Death
Hudin writes about yesterday's blast in Zagreb, Croatia, which killed Ivo Pukanić, publisher and editor-in-chief of Nacional, and Niko Franjić, a journalist: “Pukanić had been fearing for his life for some time. I have no idea as to what his dealings were behind the scenes, but on the surface, he...
