· September, 2008

Stories about Law from September, 2008

Belarus: The Election

  30 September 2008

Pre- and post-election insight from Belarus – at Andrei Khrapavitski's Belarusan American Blog, here and here: “Both the govt and the opposition elite cared more about the exterior, much less about the substance.”

India: Plagiarism continues in MSM

  30 September 2008

Travel Tales from India informs of yet another case of plagiarism of a blogger´s content by an Indian popular news daily. Sudipta thinks that Bloggers should wake up and react.

Belarus: Greens fight for gay rights

  30 September 2008

LJ user palitekanom reports on [RUS] actions by the Belarus Green Party to defend the rights of the LGBT-community in the country and a proposal to impose sanctionary measures against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.

China: Imprison for Faking Tiger

  30 September 2008

Do you still remember the South China Tigergate issue? The farmer, who claimed to have taken the photo is now facing criminal charge and may be put into prison because of that. ESWN has collected and translated local news on the case.

Japan: The psychology of prostitution, and why it should be legalized

  29 September 2008

id:fromdusktildawn delves into the the roots and social context of prostitution [ja], arguing that by looking down on women who work in the sex industry, men offload feelings of guilt about their lust for prostitutes onto the prostitutes themselves. The blogger claims that by legalizing the 5 trillion yen prostitution...

Trinidad & Tobago: Spiraling Murder Rate

  29 September 2008

“The excuses ring hollower than ever, and no longer do we buy any of them…the Government has failed us! The Prime Minister would rather have this country citizens sink hundreds at a time into 6 feet holes of earth than admit failure”: Trinidad and Tobago girls, politics, sports, technology, carnival,...

Blogger of the Week: Sami Ben Gharbia

  28 September 2008

This week's Blogger of the Week is none other than Global Voices Advocacy Director Sami Ben Gharbia, known for his dedication to the fight against oppression and censorship. Sami is originally from Tunisia, but has been based in The Netherlands since 1998. He blogs at fikra.

Morocco: Schools Closing

  28 September 2008

The View from Fez reports that the Moroccan government plans to shut down 60 Qur'anic schools around the country, all of which are associated with Sheikh Mohamed Ben Abderrahman Al-Maghraoui, who earlier this month decreed that the marriage of nine-year-old girls was permissible. His declaration is an affront to Morocco's...

Jamaica: Child Missing

  27 September 2008

After an eleven year-old girl goes missing in Kingston, Abeng News Magazine examines the plight of Jamaica's children: “With no inclination to tackle the complexity of the issues involved and no plan in sight to deal squarely with the crime menace…the youth will remain at the top of the island's...

Bangladesh: Bangla blogs are keeping Rahela alive

  27 September 2008

On 19th August 2004, a nineteen year old garment factory worker in Savar, Dhaka Bangladesh was mugged, gang raped, viciously slashed and then left to die in the thickety Jahangir Nagar University campus. She was Rahela Lima Akhtar. There she lay amidst the thick foliage, undetected for three days. Her...

Russophone Bloggers Discuss the U.S. Presidential Candidates

  27 September 2008

Last week, Israel-based LJ user avva asked his Russophone readers - some of whom are eligible to vote in the upcoming U.S. election - whether they supported Barack Obama or John McCain, and for what reasons. The post generated over 300 comments from bloggers based in the United States, Israel, Canada and Russia. Below are some of the responses.

Jordan: Think before you Fire

  26 September 2008

Jordanian Jazarah links to a story from India where a mob of dismissed workers beat the CEO of their company to death with a hammer. His advice: “Think twice before such decisions, or take the decision on your way to the plane and take a long vacation.”

Mexico: Age of Terrorism

  25 September 2008

Mexico is entering the age of terrorism, write Daniel Hernandez of Intersections, especially after the recent grenade attack in Morelia during Independence Day celebrations.

Jamaica, Senegal: Wife Beater

  25 September 2008

“The worse it gets for Bara, the worse it gets for his wife”: Jamaican diaspora blogger Stet tells the story of a wife beater in Senegal.

Japan: Prosecutors want 1.5 years for bulletin board comment

  25 September 2008

2channel threads are commenting on news [ja] that prosecutors in Japan are asking for 1.5 years in the case of 23-year-old Atsushi Sugita's (杉田敦史) declaration on a bulletin board that he would “kill young girls”. Sugita said he did not intend to commit any crime and that in using the...

Russia: Sakhalin Salmon

  24 September 2008

White Sun of the Desert writes about “the Sakhalin salmon run” season: “This is a time when huge nets are slung across river-mouths to be lifted by crane and emptied by the ton into lorries, the operators of such activities having either paid huge sums of money for licenses to...