Stories about Law from October, 2008
Ukraine: Update on the Economy and Politics
Leopolis explains in detail the current economic and political situation in Ukraine: “The stakes are high: Ukraine's economic health, its image for international investors, and a risk of default. Just as the Ukrainian stock market has seen 75% of its value wiped away, the current political crisis may undo every...
Serbia: The Lessons of Miladin Kovacevic's Case
Belgraded discusses Miladin Kovacevic's case and the lessons that can be found in it for Kovacevic himself and his victim, as well as for Serbia and the United States.
Corporations Agree to Standards for Internet Freedom
The Global Network Initiative has been launched. The Initiative is a code of conduct for corporations on privacy and free speech created by a coalition of human rights, media development and research organizations, and Internet and communications companies such as Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft. Its goal: to ensure that ICT...
Japan: Thoughts on Itochu trading scam
On October 10th, Itochu Corporation announced that it had paid close to one hundred billion yen in false transactions valued at nearly 100 billion yen to Mongolian suppliers for construction machinery and materials. One blogger and chartered accountant offers their thoughts on what happened inside Itochu.
Indonesia: Parliament approves anti-porn law
Indonesia now has an anti-porn law which critics say will curtail freedom of speech and traditional practices. Via Twitter, Aulia comments: “If only people would read the entire ‘porn’ law and understand its full consequences.”
Haiti, U.S.A.: Death Squad Leader Convicted
Both HaitiAnalysis.com and The Haitian Blogger report that a New York court has sentenced former Haitian death squad leader Emmanuel ‘Toto’ Constant to 12 to 37 years in prison for mortgage fraud.
Trinidad & Tobago: The Price of Progress
Maximilian Forte, writing at Review of the Indigenous Caribbean Center, posts a video of Trinidadian calypsonian King Austin's song Progress, which he calls “a critique of the ideology and practice of progress, from the vantage points of environmental unsustainability, exploitation, inequality, and the resultant social strife.”
Jamaica: Missing Children
YardFlex refers to “some shocking figures that indicate 65 per cent of the 1,112 people reported missing in Jamaica since January 1st 2008 are children.”
Ukraine: Sex Workers and the Police
A discussion of the treatment of Ukrainian sex workers by law enforcement officials – at Natalia Antonova's blog and Kiev Ukraine News Blog.
Egypt: Swingers Use Internet to Arrange Rendezvous
There are secrets behind closed doors. But to say that Egypt was shell shocked as news about its first swingers club emerged would be an understatement. And there is a small technicality - the couples first met online before arranging to meet face to face in cafes.
How to Drive in Morocco
From Warp to Weft writes some rules on how to drive in Morocco.
Ecuador: The Growing Problem of Cybercrime
Cybercrime is a topic not discussed much in Ecuador, but Christian Espinosa of Cobertura Digital [es] writes about an upcoming conference to address the growing problem.
Trinidad & Tobago: Not Adding Up
“Last month the record 2008-9 budget of nearly TT$50 billion was based on an assumed oil price of $75 a barrel. At the time, the price was well above that. A month later, it’s below $64. So even the richest economy in the Caribbean either has to make some serious...
Bermuda: Gambling with the Future?
As the government considers introducing internet gaming to the island, both FreshieBlog and Vexed Bermoothes think that it is a bad idea, saying that it “could taint Bermuda’s reputation as a serious business jurisdiction.”
Japan: Marriage with anime characters
(the) Road to the Deep East blogs about a signature campaign by a Japanese man demanding Japanese government to permit the marriage with anime characters, legally.
Russia: “Help Svetlana Bakhmina” Petition
As of now, 71,250 people have signed an online petition appealing to the Russian president to pardon Svetlana Bakhmina, a former senior lawyer for Mikhail Khodorkovsky's oil company Yukos, who was arrested in December 2004 and sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison for embezzlement and tax evasion in April 2006.
Trinidad & Tobago: Crime Watch
“Like any other country, we have a well-laid out and codified set of laws for the populace to follow. Of what good is our law however, when particularly in relation to serious and violent crime, we appear to have little success of apprehending and convicting those who break it?”: Trinbago...
Russia, France: Update on Karinna Moskalenko
Robert Amsterdam posts an update on the situation of lawyer Karinna Moskalenko.
Morocco: Barça Fan Jailed for Superlative Statement
Many bloggers were shocked last week to learn that a young Moroccan man had been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for what seemed like such a minor "crime." The young man, a Barça (FC Barcelona, a soccer team) fan, allegedly wrote “God, Nation, Barça” on the blackboard at his school. Morocco's motto is "God, Nation, King."
Bangladesh, India: Things that make your children taller, stronger and sharper
Recently two advertisements of childrens food products made by Nestlé and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) aired by a Bangladeshi television channel were banned in UK. The Bangladeshi private TV channel NTV (not Nepali TV as some reports claimed) is rebroadcasted from UK to cover 58 countries in Europe and surrounding areas. The...
China: “Criminal” with Human Rights Award
Last week (Oct 23) it was announced that the European Parliaments’ Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought has been awarded to Chinese political activist Hu Jia. On the other hand, China government expressed its anger and disappointment at the European Union decision, insisting Hu was a criminal, and described the...
