Stories about Freedom of Speech from November, 2006
Hong Kong: cultural gap in Hong Kong journalism
ESWN translates different mainstream reports concerning the sacking of SCMP editors to show the cultural gap between Chinese and English journalism.
South Korea: A Day in the Life of an OhmyNews Editor
Claire George in Ohmynews writes a personal account of her editor's life and how the job has changed her persception of the world.
South Korea: anti Korean websites
Robert Koehler at Marmot's Hole lists out some anti-Korean websites. However, he disagrees with local newspapers’ opinion that government should step in and intervene.
Russia: More Alarming Changes
Alex(ei) of The Russian Dilettante's Weblog writes that a “a former KGB colleague of Putin” will likely be appointed as head of “Gazprom's oil-producing arm, Gazpromneft.” Also, Russian legislators are introducing a law according to which “candidates may no longer engage in personal criticism of their opponents. Ridiculous as it...
Belarus: Dress Censorship is Back
TOL's Belarus Blog writes about “Soviet retro” – which includes something quite surreal: a new regulation introduced by the Belarusian government, requiring “the Ministry of Education to create and approve a state concept for youth fashion by the New Year.”
Croatia: Animal Rights Group Targets Art
Neretva River reports on an animal rights group targeting a Croatian contemporary arts exhibit – and, coincidentally, some artwork “commemorating the 200th anniversary of the founding of Zagreb’s Jewish community,” which is on display at the same location.
South Asia: Politics, Happiness, Religion and The Birds
The latest from different blogs about the following South Asian Countries: Bangladesh: Bangladesh is facing a political crisis. Unheard Voices: Drishtipat group blog informs about a citizens movement in Bangladesh in which people are urged to wear a black badge demanding a free and fair election and to bring an...
Zimbabwe: Al Jazeera English in Zimbabwe
Writing about Al Jazeera English's license to operate in Zimbabwe, Blake Lambert asks, “Precisely what are the terms of Al Jazeera English’s license to operate a bureau in Zimbabwe?”
The Week That Was in Bahrain
For a small constitutional monarchy, with a population of about 700,000, Bahrain's blogosphere is sure never short of new topics for discussion and debate. This week's new topics include the arrest of two activists, a rally to push authorities to probe what is now commonly referred to in Bahrain as...
Estonia, Russia: “The Bronze Soldier Disease”
Itching for Eestimaa writes about “the Bronze Soldier disease” that “has spread from Tallinn to Moscow, where officials and analysts are now weighing in on the issue like it would make a big difference in their life whether the Bronze Soldier was there or not.”
Serbia, Slovenia: Relationship with the Roma People
“I ja sam Rom!” (“I'm Roma, too!”) – by Nune In her B92 blog, Jelica Greganovic reports on the latest racism case against the Roma that occurred in Slovenia (SRP): […] We shouldn’t be only ashamed. We should be scared, too. I am already terrified. Slovenians were working during anti-fascism...
Arabisc: Culprits, Democracy and the Rule of Law
Choosing links from 22 different Arab countries for translation is no easy feat..for however much you try and be selective, you cannot be doing the region and its bloggers any justice. Today I have selected the following links, each highlighting a different woe Arab bloggers have to deal with. Our...
South Korea: university pressure on Dokdo
Robert Koehler at Marmot's Hole reports that a blogger has received pressure from university because of his blogging about Dokdo, an island with territorial controversy between Japan and South Korea.
China: Touchy topics
BBS forums used to be the venue of choice to make oneself seen and heard in the Chinese blogsphere, until blogs came along and most of the biggest and best BBS names took their reputations and readers and set up their own spaces. While BBSes, some in blog+BBS hybrid form,...
The Moroccan beauty shines in France while more Moroccan bloggers “call it quit”!
It's alarming. More and more Moroccan bloggers are taking vacation from blogging! And while A Moroccan haute couture stylist displays proudly his identity by transforming a Caftan into an elegant Moroccan flag, other Moroccans questioned their belonging to a country they say is harassing their religious belief. The patriotic Caftan...
Belarus: Failed Conference and Other Problems
TOL's Belarus Blog writes about an unsuccessful conference on Belarus recently held in Poland: “In regard to the western participants, I was surprised at the lack of real knowledge or understanding about Belarus, both past and present. With the Belarusians, I was again reminded of the unfortunate tendency of think...
Belarus: Podcast With Milinkevich
TOL's Belarus Blog posts a Belarusian-language podcast with the opposition leader Aleksandr Milinkevich.
Voices from Zimbabwe
It has been a busy two weeks in Zimbabwe. The major headline out of Zimbabwe over the last two weeks was the submission to President Mugabe of a vision document drawn up by Zimbabwe's churchleaders titled “The Zimbabwe We Want: Towards A National Vision for Zimbabwe“. Kubatana Blogs has a...
China: why unblocked wikipedia?
Andrew Lih is trying to answer why did China unblocked wikipedia?
Ukraine: “Ideologically Harmful”
Sean's Russia Blog translates a 1985 Soviet-time internal document listing the “ideologically harmful” Western music bands.
Arabisc: Best Blog Awards Winners and Recurring Nightmares
Arabic blogs are making their mark on the international blogging scene, with more writers and commentators taking to their keyboards and enjoying the thrill of the instant publication of their ideas away from government censorship, newspaper censorship and self-censorship! The BOBS – Best of the Blogs Awards 2006 highlighted a...
