Stories about Freedom of Speech from August, 2008
China: Citizen reporter to be deported
The day after live-vlogging the rare phenomenon that is a loud Free Tibet protest in the middle of Tiananmen Square, Noel ‘noneck’ Hidalgo has just tweeted that he is to be deported. Guess he wasn't using Tor.
Kuwait: Release Hussein Al Fudalah Now
On July 7, Kuwaiti Hussein Al Fudalah left his home to go fishing and was never seen again. A few days later his family got the news that he was detained in neighbouring Iran. And while Kuwait's newspapers are turning a blind eye to Hussein's plight, one Kuwaiti blogger thinks that enough is enough and is running an online campaign to draw more attention to the captured fisherman.
China: More foreigners protest, aided by 2.0 tools
Saturday saw another Free Tibet protest in Beijing, this time right from the middle of Tiananmen square. Qik.com vlogger noneck was at the scene to live-stream the protest, but that's not all that's going on right now..
Lebanon: An Italian Lesson for Lebanon
What are the similarities between Lebanon and Italy, other than the fact that they both overlook the Mediterranean? Blogger Antoun Issa, in his latest post at Lebanese Chess argues that his understanding of Italy’s political corruption can certainly be compared – both directly and indirectly to Lebanon’s political corruption as...
Cuba, China: Politics & Sport
“I consider myself a fan of the Olympics…this time around, I just can't get excited about the Games”: Cuban blogger 26th Parallel thinks that the Chinese regime is “as oppressive as the smog that's covering Beijing.”
Bahrain: Undesirable Visitors
Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif claims the country's Ministry of Information, responsible for censorship, has been visiting his blog, where he maintains a list of banned blogs and sites.
Belarus: Restrictive Media Law Confirmed
Vitaly Portnikov comments on (RUS) the new and restrictive Belarusian media law that has now been confirmed by the country's president, Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
Cuba: Role of the Media
As one Havana-based blogger, Circles Robinson, is optimistic about Cuban media charting a new course, another, Yoani Sanchez, criticizes the media's complacency in reporting on issues like domestic violence: “How can a woman, who flees home to avoid the fists of her husband, know how to find a refuge where...
Cuba: Hunger Strike Over
Uncommon Sense reports that four Cuban political prisoners have ended their hunger strike.
Turkey: Dailymotion blocked
Access to the french video-sharing website Dailymotion.com has been blocked in Turkey since August 2nd 2008. According to Erkan Saka, an Istanbul-based blogger, “the decision to ban the site came without any explanation.”
China: Olympic Blocking and Unblocking
Many websites, such as Radio free Asia, have been unblocked in China during Olympics, however, Liu Xiaoyuan pointed out that many local blog posts are still blocked. The unblocking is selective deal to political pressure, while blocking is still set as default policy. Citizen media such as inmediahk.net in Hong...
China: Photos from morning Tibet protest
After getting a global scoop with streaming footage of the Olympic Stadium Tibet protest this morning, vlogger Noel noneck Hidalgo has now uploaded to Flickr some photos taken at the time which better illustrate how the situation was handled.
China: Darfur activist has visa revoked
Twitter user and Team Darfur spokesperson Emma Stone Mackinnon has just tweeted: “China revoked Joey Cheek's visa just now…no links yet, press release just went out.” More on Joey Cheek at Wikipedia.
Russia: Ingushetian News-Site Silenced?
Dzutsev's Weblog reports that one of the few websites presenting independent news on Ingushetia, ingushetiya.ru, probably will have to be closed because its editor has had to seek refuge in Western Europe due to political persecution.
China: Tibetan protesters raise flag outside Olympic stadium
Still waiting (updating below) for more details, but Qik.com vlogger Noel Hidalgo is at the scene and giving updates via Twitter. Here's a video he took just a few minutes ago not far from the Olympic bird's nest: Noel has just finished uploading a second video, in which he reports...
Brazil: The cost of the cybercrime bill
Sérgio Amadeu [pt] argues that the cybercrime bill proposed for Brazil will put DHCP protocol networks at risk because it enables free and anonymous surfing, the same for wireless networks which allow free public access. “(Senator) Azeredo will create a new cost for Brazil: the cost of digital communication”. Meanwhile...
Cuba, Venezuela: Sound Familiar?
Cuban blogger Babalu thinks that the latest decrees by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez sound awfully familiar…
Cuba: Hunger Strike
“It is a small action…it has not made the international press”: Ninety miles away…in another country reports on a hunger strike undertaken by four political prisoners in Cuba.
Brazil: Blog is censored because of the elections
“Since yesterday this blog has been forbidden by a Electoral Justice Court's decision to make “comments about the upcoming elections (local elections 2008) with the aim to promote or denigrate candidates, including images or photographs.” The justice also ruled that we removed “all comments that somehow promote or criticise candidates,...
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Dubioza Kolektiv Censored
YakimaGulagLitteraryGazett reports that the Bosnian hip-hop band Dubioza Kolektiv has been censored from the Goražde Festival because of a song in which they criticize local politicians such as the Mayor of Sarajevo.
Sudan: YouTube Blocked
YouTube has been partially blocked for internet users in Sudan for reasons that are still unknown. Some Sudanese in the country report being able to access YouTube without any problems, while others report being sent to a page with the following message: "Sorry, this page has been blocked by National Telecommunication Corporation."
