Stories about Freedom of Speech from February, 2010
Belarus: Cartoon on New Internet Regulations
A cartoon commentary on the newly-introduced Internet regulations in Belarus: “On the Internet, nobody knows you are a dog… unless you live in Belarus.”
Russia: Interview With Nina Khrushcheva, Part 2
A second installment of the video interview with Dr. Nina Khrushcheva – at Robert Amsterdam's blog. (Part 1 is here.)
Iran: Green Movement Readying for February 11 Protests
Iran's Green Movement is ready to defy the Iranian regime with protests once again - this time during the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution on 11 Februrary (22 Bahman).
Pakistan: PTA Blocks President's ‘Shut-Up’ Video
YouTube.com recently faced intermittent reports of irregular inaccessibility across various ISP's in Pakistan. It turned out that Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had placed an URL-specific ban on one particular video of the President's speech in a rally.
Breaking Borders award at the GV Summit 2010
The Breaking Borders Award is a new prize created by Google and Global Voices and supported by Thomson Reuters to honor outstanding web projects initiated by individuals or groups that demonstrate courage, energy and resourcefulness in using the Internet to promote freedom of expression. Closing date for applications is February...
Taiwan: Presidential Office curbs foreign press
The Far-Eastern Sweet Potato writes that the Presidential Office has excluded foreign reporters from monthly briefings on ECFA. The post includes a letter of protest from the President of the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents’ Club to the Presidential Office.
China: Let Feng Zhenghu come home, to jail time
After 92 days in Narita Airport, activist Feng Zhenghu has returned to Japan and is preparing for his ninth attempt to return home to China. Should he go? Illiberal members of Anti-CNN.com think jail time for leaders in China's exiled democracy movement could give it a fresh start.
China: #Tanzuoren – to be human
Chinese activist Tan Zuoren was sentenced to 5 year imprisonment and 3 year deprivation of political rights this morning (Feb 9) under the charge of inciting subversion of state power. Tan was involved in the investigation of the relation between bean dregs school buildings and the death of school children...
Arab World: Should the New York Times Reassign Ethan Bronner?
Over the past couple of weeks, a much-discussed topic in the broader Arab blogosphere has been a news story that broken by a member of the blogosphere itself. On January 25, the Electronic Intifada (EI) reported that the son of Ethan Bronner, New York Times' Jerusalem bureau chief, had recently been inducted into the Israeli Defense Forces. Arab bloggers discuss the case.
Tunisia: Censorship Again and Again!
More than ever before, censorship seems to become the rule in Tunisia. The last two weeks in the Tunisian blogosphere witnessed a war launched by Ammar (the nickname given to the Tunisian censorship apparatus), who has been censoring blogs arbitrarily. Bloggers rally in support of their 'blocked' colleagues.
China: Education, critical thinking and creativity
C. Custer from ChinaGeek looks into the China education system and discusses its impact on young people.
China: Guilty or not guilty, that's the question
Xujun Eberlein from Inside-out China explains the reason behind Beijing lawyer Li Zhuang's decision to admit the crime of fabricating evidence in the China court.
China: Liu Xiaobo's final statement
China Law Prof blog posts Prof. David Kelly's translation of Chinese human rights dissident, Liu Xiabo's final statement: I have no enemies in his blog.
Russia: Interview With Nina Khrushcheva
An interview with Dr. Nina Khrushcheva “on Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev, and comments on the driving forces behind Russia's Stalin resurgence” – at Robert Amsterdam's Blog.
Philippines: Cabinet member sues blogger
Blogger Ella Ganda from the Philippines wrote in October that relief goods intended for typhoon victims are being hoarded in a government warehouse. Three months later, she was charged with libel by a government minister. Police want to know her real name. The local blogosphere reacts.
Tajikistan: Justice or prosecution of the press
Alpharabius reports on a lawsuit by three Tajik Supreme Court judges against three independent newspapers, and interviews a judge of the Tajikistan’s Supreme Court on this and other matters.
Ukraine: Campaign Ads; “Final Rallies”
Ukrainiana takes readers on a video tour “through inter-election Kyiv” – and to the “final rallies” of the two presidential candidates, which took place on Feb. 5 “just a block away from each other.”
Dominica: On Censorship
Dominica Weekly puts forward its take on the issue of censorship, commenting: “Dominican authorities must pay close attention to other lyrics which glorify guns, drugs, violence or deviant behaviour. Calypso, as a art form [has] tremendous influence on the behaviour of youth…and governments have a responsibility to ensure that the...
Talking to Trinidadian journalist and blogger Andre Bagoo
An interview with Trinidadian journalist Andre Bagoo, who writes hard-hitting political coverage for the daily press, and innovative, wide-ranging cultural commentary on his blog PLEASURE.
Cuba: Identifying with Mandela
Cuban diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense reports that “3 Cuban political prisoners this week delivered their congratulations to South African patriarch Nelson Mandela on this month's 20th anniversary of his release from prison”, and notes that they “identify with Mandela's own 27 years in prison, his lifelong struggle against an illegitimate...
Russia: Police Raid Environmental Organization
Irkutsk [EN] regional portal Babr.ru published [RUS] photos of a police raid [EN] of the Baikal Environmental Wave. The organization is fighting against reopening highly polluting Baikalsk cellulose plant [EN] located on the bank of the Baikal Lake, the most voluminous freshwater lake in the world.
