· August, 2008

Stories about Law from August, 2008

Zimbabwe: Dirty Politics

  30 August 2008

Dirty, dirty politics in Zimbabwe: The MDC has unearthed a plot by the Attorney General’s office and members of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) to secure convictions against MDC MPs in a bid to reverse the MDC majority in Parliament.

Thailand: People’s coup or putsch?

  30 August 2008

Since Tuesday, anti-government protesters have invaded Thailand’s Government House demanding the resignation of Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej. The rallyists, estimated to be as low as 3,000 to as high as 25,000, are members of the People's Alliance for Democracy

Guyana: ‘Fineman’ Killed

  29 August 2008

The Guyanese blogosphere is rejoicing over news that security forces have killed country's most feared criminal, Rondell ‘Fineman’ Rawlins, who was wanted for a series of massacres.

Brazil: Digital TV with Digital Rights Managements

  28 August 2008

Sérgio Amadeu [pt] has just learned that the Brazilian National Standards Organization is considering to have Digital TV setup boxes with DRM (Digital Rights Managements). “It is unfortunate that such an issue is decided by a small group of technicians. This decision is not purely technical, it has extremely serious...

Kenya: Reproductive Rights Bill Sparks Abortion Debate

  28 August 2008

A bill proposed by Kenyan women's rights groups, which would make it easier to have an abortion, has re-sparked the debate about legalizing abortion. The procedure is currently illegal in Kenya, unless the pregnant woman's life is in danger. Many religious leaders and politicians in the country have spoken out...

Haiti: Homes Being Destroyed

  28 August 2008

“Cite Soleil, a shanty town in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, is under siege by the UN occupying forces”: The Haitian Blogger publishes a statement by the Haitian Lawyers Leadership “condemning the wholesale expropriation and demotion being undertaken in Cite Soleil of 155 homes.”

Barbados, Antigua: Digicel vs. Stanford

  28 August 2008

The Bajan Reporter is all over the story of telecommunications giant Digicel taking Allen Stanford to court “in order to protect its sole and exclusive rights as primary sponsor of West Indies cricket”. The West Indies Cricket Board insists “that the team that will play England on 1 November represents...

Venezuela: Yukpa Indians, Chávez and land disputes

  28 August 2008

Citizen media videos have been uploaded informing of the situation arising in Venezuela between the Yukpa Indians of the Perijá Mountains, landowners and President Chávez. This dispute over land limits is 30 years in the making, when military forces displaced the Indigenous communities of the Yukpa by force and established landowners who have cattle ranches and have been working the lands ever since.

South Korea: Sex Offender Bracelet

  28 August 2008

Korea Beat translated a local news about the implementation of sex offender bracelets policy: beginning on September 1st the bracelets will be able to report the movements of sex offenders 24 hours a day.

Brazil: The rice war on indigenous land

  27 August 2008

Brazil's Supreme Court decides today about the future of Raposa Serra do Sol's Indigenous land. Observatório da Imprensa [Press Observatory, pt] have published two texts about the media coverage of the subject. One of them is called The Rice War [pt]: “The press still own us an approach that will...

Jamaica: Athletic Subversion

  27 August 2008

“Jamaica's garrison politics found its way onto the Olympics stage in two performances – once in a scintillating display of athletic grace and vigor, and once in a celebratory performance of the “gully creepa”: Abeng News Magazine explains.

Haiti: Hurricane Gustav

  27 August 2008

“Tensions are running really high right now”: Pwoje Espwa describes the conditions as Hurricane Gustav passes over Haiti.

China: Cop Killer's Case

  27 August 2008

The Shanghai Cop killer's or Yang Jia case was on court on yesterday (26 of Aug). Both Shanghai citizens and reporters were not allowed to attend the trial as all the seats were booked by local police. Liu Xiaoyuan pointed out that such kind of arrangement is de facto secret...

Poland: Reactions to the Russian-Georgian Conflict

  27 August 2008

The beatroot writes that “Poland – in the shape of its government and particularly its president, Lech Kaczynski – has been using the conflict between Moscow and Tbilisi to nail their colours to the mast of “protecting freedom and democracy” of the brave young George against the might of an...