Stories about Freedom of Speech from August, 2008
Russia, Georgia: “Information War” Guidelines
In politicsforum LJ community, U.S.-based LJ user malasadas posts humorous guidelines (ENG) for a Russian-style “information war” over South Ossetia (LJ user commentator40 has translated this post into Russian in ru_politics LJ community).
China: Fake news plagues Chinese sports reports
So much speculation these past few days on the ages of some of the girls on China's Olympic gymnastics team, specifically He Kexin and a fair amount of references to keep it going. Famous Chinese sports writer and Bullog blogger Wang Xiaoshan has posted a dramatically-titled piece, ‘Fake news kills’,...
Georgia: Videos of Journalists Under Attack in Gori
The blog From the Frontline posted several videos showing two different reporters being shot (first one here, second here), a team of Turkish TV journalists under attack and a bombing that resulted in the death of a Dutch cameraman, all in the Georgian town of Gori.
Georgia, Russia: Political Spam
Tbilisi-based LJ user shupaka (Diana Petriashvili) has been getting lots of political spam on her ICQ account and a Russian social networking site she's a member of. Here's the most common sample, in English: “Your channels, newspapers and the Internet-sites lie, each word is a lie. Georgia acts as instructied...
Lebanon: Prisoners in Syria
As Lebanese President Michel Suleiman visits Syria, “the government media in Damascus recognizes for the first time after years of silence the existence of the question of the Lebanese prisoners held in Syrian jails,” writes Abullor at Bilad ash-Sham.
Cuba: Birthday Candles
Child of the Revolution notes that “every August 13 without fail, the official Cuban media celebrates Fidel Castro’s birthday by trying to come up with ever more ridiculous ways to describe the man who ruled his 11 million subjects with an iron fist for close to half a century.” Yoani...
Jamaica, China: Masters of the Universe?
She makes you think and she makes you laugh! Jamaican Annie Paul‘s post on the Olympics is a must-read.
China: Citizen reporter Zuola carted off
Less than an hour ago, prominent Chinese citizen blogger was visited at home by authorities and driven off. Fortunately, he had Twitter on hand and was able to get the word out as he was being detained.
Japan: Debate over Google Street View continues
Less than two weeks after Google rolled out Street View in Japan, debate continues in the blogs over whether the new service is an appropriate match for Japanese culture and urban residential life. A letter addressed to Google written by IT professional Osamu Higuchi drew a huge reaction last week, the translation of which was picked up abroad in both the U.S. and the U.K., in Japan both in English and in Japanese, and eventually even made its way onto Chinese bulletin boards. While many bloggers in Japan supported sentiments expressed in the letter, others responded with criticism.
Iran: Three Student activists are out of jail
Varesh, an Iranian blogger, says[Fa] that three student activists, Ghasaban,Tavakoli and Mansouri, after being in jail for 15 months, got released tonight.
Iran: A conservative site was filtered
Alef, an Iranian conservative site, was filtered a few days ago. Several sites and blogs report that Alef site has published Iranian Minister of Interior's “fake” Ph.D certificate from Oxford where you can find many mistakes in English.
Georgia, Russia: “What's Next?”
Russian president Dmitry Medvedev announced the end of the so-called "peace enforcement" operation yesterday. LJ user varfolomeev66 asked this question on his blog: "What's next?"
Georgia: One more journalist killed
The blog From the Frontline reports that a Dutch journalist has been killed in the Georgian town of Gori, a few days after two others were also killed, in Tskhinvali the capital of South Ossetia.
Russia: Ingushetian Website Closure
LJ user kaloy comments on (RUS) a ruling by the Moscow City Court to close down the website ingushetiya.ru and its potential consequences for freedom of expression on the Internet.
Haiti: Lovinsky Still Missing
Today is the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of Lovinsky Pierre Antoine, one of Haiti's most respected human rights advocates. The Haitian Blogger remembers him fondly: “It's a…sad commentary that Lovinsky has not returned to his family. Lovinsky embodied Haiti. Haiti's spirit of independence, struggle, wisdom and knowledge of self.”
China: Collective lawsuit against Internet Censorship
A website has been set up to coordinate a collective lawsuit against Internet censorship in China.
Egypt: Cyber-Cafés and User Privacy
The Egypt Guy, from the Egypt Blog, links to a news story which discusses new measures being imposed by the Egyptian government, which aim to increase the extent of censorship on Internet users and violates their right to privacy.
Brazil: Debating the online regulation for the elections
Rodrigo Savazoni is organizing a series [pt] of posts in answer to a comment by judge Ricardo Hermann regarding his article on Brazil's online regulations for the elections. “I must thank him for explaining his views publicly. The Brazilian judiciary is not very accountable for its acts. So, I greatly...
South Ossetia, Georgia: Journalists Killed, Foreigners Evacuated
Reportedly, two journalists have been killed amidst the fighting in Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, and several others have been wounded. At the same time, foreigners are being evacuated from Georgia and the situation remains tense, while everyone's holding their breath for a ceasefire.
Trinidad & Tobago, China: All That Glitters
Trinidad and Tobago-based blogger Tattoo says that “China at least certainly leads the world in something: the capacity to hide the dirt with glitter and gold.”
Fiji Times reporter arrested
A Fiji Times reporter was detained by police for writing about an article which offended a government minsiter. Soli Vakasama from Fiji notes how eight tough policemen apprehended a journalist armed with only a pen.
