Stories about Freedom of Speech from February, 2010
Cuba: Educational Autonomy
“In these two years since Raul Castro came to power, expulsions for ideological reasons have continued – and are on an upward course – in the centers of higher education”: Generation Y blogs about evictions in Cuban universities.
China: Critical Masses and Shifting State-Society Relations in China
The China Beat has an essay based on the script of a talk Ying Zhu gave at Google’s New York offices on February 12, 2010, discussing the relation between the rise of critical mass and the shifting state-society relations in China.
Russia: Human Rights Activists’ Blogs
A list of links to Russian human rights activists’ blogs (RUS) – at Human Rights in Russia (hro.org).
Russia: Avatar & North Caucasus – Fiction vs Reality
LJ user burtin posts this comment (RUS) about Avatar: “Interesting that people cry [as they watch] Avatar – while reports from Chechnya and Ingushetia leave them totally indifferent. Even though archetypally the same is happening there – only the people are real, not [computer-generated]. […] If this were happening in...
Sri Lanka: World Bank And Web Censorship
“Will the World Bank indirectly support web censorship in Sri Lanka?” asks Sanjana Hattotuwa at ICT For Peacebuilding (ICT4Peace) blog.
“SOS Internet Indonesia”
The Indonesian government plans to create a team which will regulate internet content in the country. The plan is to censor pornography, gambling, racism and other immoral content in cyberspace. But netizens are afraid that it might also stifle freedom of expression
China: Turning Buzz back on
With Google having fixed privacy issues in Buzz, Rebecca MacKinnon opted back in to the service today and has shared her observations on how Buzz is being received by Chinese users.
China: Twitter trap?
C Custer from ChinaGeeks wonders if Twitter will become a trap for the authority to track down and prosecute dissidents for what they have said.
Iran: No Triumphs for Green Protests on Anniversary of Revolution
In protests on February 11, Iran's Green Movement were not able to mobilize as strongly as they have in the past due to the swift work of security forces.
Philippines: Libel and bloggers
Jaemark Tordecilla mentions the libel cases filed against Filipino bloggers in recent years.
China: Red snippet campaign
The Chinese government encourages people to send positive message through SMS after banning dirty joke. DANWEI translated Southern Weekly's story on “Red snippets”.
Uzbekistan: President Karimov's thoughts about media
Recently President Karimov again mentioned about leading role of mass-media in Uzbekistan. Considering sensitivity of this issue and increasing cases of pressure on independent journalists (i.e. thos who don’t work in the official media), Uzbek leader called local media toothless, reports Vesti.uz [RU]. According to Islam Karimov, today’s conditions have...
Macedonia: NGO's Statement on Internet Regulations by the State
Macedonia-based Metamorphosis: Foundation for Sustainable ICT Solutions has issued a statement “on the role of the state in the process of protecting children from the risks of using new technologies, by applying internet content filtering systems and systems for categorization of computer games.”
Two Vietnam websites blocked
The Vietnam government is accused of blocking two popular websites. The authors of the two websites, bauxitevietnam.info and blogosin.org, are opposed to several government policies.
Pakistan: Website Blocked AT IP Level
Teeth Maestro reports that Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has blocked the website http://makepakistanbetter.com on an IP level, apparently for posting criticisms against the government.
Last chance to nominate blogs for BoBs Award
Deutsche Welle's Best of the Blogs Awards is accepting nominations until February 14th! Nominate blogs in any country. There are special topics for climate change and freedom of expression.
Egypt: Blogger loses job for uncovering fake virginity story
Egyptian blogger and journalist Amira Al Tahawi got fired for blowing the whistle over a fabricated story on the Chinese artificial hymen kit in a post she wrote on her blog, claim bloggers. Here are reactions from the Egyptian blogosphere on the incident.
China: Twitter revolution
Interlocals.net has a translation of Hu Yong's article on Micro Revolution, which tells the significance of micro blogging, such as twitter and sina micro-blog, on mainland Chinese society.
Iran: Protesters ask for referendum
While President Ahmadinejad spoke to a crowd of thousands at Azadi, or Freedom Square, in central Tehran on the anniversary of the revolution, anti regime protesters demonstrated and called for referendum in Tehran. Watch the video here.
Indonesia: Water buffalo banned in rallies
The Indonesian government has banned the use of water buffalo in rallies after a group of protesters likened the animal to the president. The water buffalo is now an icon of democracy. Bloggers and twitterers react.
Cambodia: Mixed Views on Freedom of Expression
GV author Sopheap Chak writes about the human rights situation in Cambodia focusing on the state of freedom of expression in the country.
