Stories about International Relations from December, 2010
North Korea's State-run TV Broadcasted its First Western-made Film
North Korea's state-run television broadcasted its first Western-made film, a heavily edited “Bend It Like Beckham”. The British soccer film contains North Korea's taboo topics, like interracial relationships, homosexuality and religion. British Embassy in Seoul tweeted it is ‘the first western live-action film ever aired in North Korea, arranged by...
Caucasus: Online tools in Peace Building
Writing on his Peace and Collaborative Development Network Blog, Global Voices’ Caucasus Editor recounts his experience of using online social networks in cross-border communication and peace building initiatives between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Locked into a still unresolved conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, another post, however, looks at...
Glimpses of Citizen Media from Portuguese language countries in 2010
Throughout 2010 the lusophone blogsphere has given new perspectives on important issues that mainstream media tends to ignore. Read this post and discover a selection of the voices that Global Voices has amplified - from citizen media phenomena, to politics, governance and indigenous peoples.
Belarus: More Commentary on Dec. 19
Commentary on the implications of the post-election events in Belarus – at OpenDemocracy.net, here and here.
Hungary: “Viktor #Censorbán”
Kosmopolito writes about Hungary's new media law and suggests ways to draw attention to the situation; “transforming” PM Viktor Orbán into Viktor #Censorbán is just one of the strategies – and there's already a Censorban account on Twitter, as well as a hashtag. More relevant info and reactions – at...
Hungary: Relations With China
Hungarian Spectrum writes about Hungary's economic and financial relations with China.
Russia: Media Coverage of Khodorkovsky Verdict
Overview of media reactions to the verdict and sentence in the case of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev – by Robert Amsterdam, Global Chaos, and Sublime Oblivion.
South Asia: Looking Back at the Citizen Media Storylines in 2010
You cannot leave South Asia region out of the picture as with nearly twenty three percent of the world's population, events in this region exert an enormous impact on the international system. Global Voices covered some of these events from a citizen media perspective. Let us review the popular posts of 2010 in this region.
Kazakhstan: Echo of the OSCE Summit
Since mid-2000s Kazakhstan was craving to head the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe, OSCE, the largest international pro-democracy organization on the continent. The bid was criticized by some member countries because of the Kazakhstan’s poor human rights record. Eventually the chairmanship was granted in result of a set...
Algeria: Wikileaks and Israel
Khaled Mimoune, from Algeria, tweets (Ar): “Isn't it fishy that there are no Wikileaks documents exposing Israel's scandals?”
Somalia: How do you solve a problem like Somalia?
Daniel Kalinaki discusses ways to solve a problem like Somalia in global politics: “Somalia is not a new conflict; the country ‘failed’ in 1991 and has since then been a collection of tribes and clans struggling to control the territory and the people.”
Nigeria: Controversy Over the Sale of Stolen Benin Mask
Online activists have been protesting against the proposed auction of six pieces of stolen artworks including the mask of Queen Idia – the first Queen Mother of Benin, Nigeria.
China, Congo and Japan: Soccer politics
Ministry of Tofu translates Chinese netizens’ reactions over a recent soccer fans riot in Congo. The African soccer fans had mistaken the Japanese referee as Chinese and smashed Chinese-own stores to avenge the partial rule in the football field.
Cuba: Cables Reveal Government Sees Bloggers as “Most Serious Challenge”
Cuba was one of the Latin American countries most frequently referenced in the trove of diplomatic cables recently released by WikiLeaks. Cables confirmed much of what is already known, but they also revealed the Cuban government’s deep concern about the political impact of independent bloggers on the island.
Japan: A year of blogs
As the character 暑 (sho) meaning ‘hot or heat' was chosen to represent the year 2010 at the annual ceremony in Kyoto, let's see a selection of “hot topics” that Global Voices covered this year.
Armenia-Azerbaijan: Social Media in peace building
Based on experience to date, my Caucasian Knot blog features a post on the use of online social networks to bring Armenians and Azerbaijanis together online as part of regional peace building and cross-border cooperation projects.
Serbia, Albania, Kosovo: More Info on “Yellow House”
Sasa Milosevic has collected some of the available information about the “Yellow House” and human organ trade in Kosovo on his blog, The Bloody Yellow House (ENG).
Tragedy bookends Year 2010 for Francophone Citizen Media
It appears that tragedy will bookend yet another year rich in remarkable events in the world of francophone citizen media. The month of January set the tone with the fallout from the earthquake in Haiti and December saw the elections in Cote d'Ivoire take a dramatic turn. Here is the year 2010 reviewed through the lenses of francophone citizen media users.
Malaysia, Singapore: Open letter to Lee Kuan Yew
Malaysian blogger Art Harun writes an open letter to Singapore leader Lee Kuan Yew in response to the Wikileaks expose about the unflattering remarks made by Singapore's senior diplomats against Malaysia.
Caribbean: Defining Moments of 2010
Many landmark events happened in the Caribbean this year, prompting reactions from the regional blogosphere. Here's a look back at some of the most important stories of 2010...
Trinidad & Tobago: A Vote vs. Human Rights
Trinidad and Tobago bloggers are upset about their country's abstention on a UN vote regarding an amendment to a resolution “condemning extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions” which “restores a reference to sexual orientation in the list of groups of people particularly targeted in extrajudicial killings.”
