Stories about Law from November, 2008
Kosovo: Haradinaj's Profile; Discussion at LSE
Popkitchen posts a critique of a Vanity Fair profile of Ramush Haradinaj, a former guerrilla leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and former prime minister of Kosovo, and writes about a recent discussion on Kosovo's independence held at the London School of Economics.
Albania: Health Care and Bribery
Belatedly, a link to Albanian Blogger‘s report on the arrest of a well-known oncology surgeon on bribery charges: “For the public, including myself, the event hopefully will serve to bring some much needed attention to this plague of our society in a sphere where all of us are vulnerable –...
Ukraine: Ruthenians
Some background and a translation of an Izvestiya piece on Ukraine's Ruthenians – at Robert Amsterdam's blog.
Russia: Yevgeny Kolesov and Politkovskaya Trial
Robert Coalson of RFE/RL's The Power Vertical writes about “the open-again, closed-again, open-again trial of three men allegedly involved in the murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya” and the role that former juror Yevgeny Kolesov has played in it.
Hungary, Czech Republic: Romaphobia
The Hungarian Spectrum reports on the murder of a 14-year-old girl in a Hungarian village, which led to an anti-Roma rally. The Reference Frame is unhappy with Al Jazeera's story on discrimination against the Czech Republic's Roma children in their access to education.
The Baltics, India: “The Dangers of Turning a Minority into an Underclass”
Lithuania-based Andrei Khrapavitski of Belarusan American Blog reflects on the events in Mumbai and suggests there might be a “lesson for the Baltics” there: “I know any status comparisons of Muslims in India to a Russian minority in Latvia or Estonia would be more than far-fetched, nevertheless I can see...
Croatia: Creator of Anti-PM Facebook Group Arrested
Svetlana Gladkova reports on Profy on the arrest (and the subsequent release) of a Croatian man who created a Facebook group (HRV) “I bet I will find 5,000 people who do not like [Croatia's PM Ivo Sanader].” The group now has over 9,000 members.
Tunisia: Facebook Case Thrown Out of Court
A Tunisian court threw out a case against the censorship facing Facebook, brought about by blogger and journalist Ziad El Heni against the Tunisian Internet Agency (ATI).
Japan, S. Korea, China: the Second International Congress of Asian Hemp Industry
Blogger Takashi reports [jp] on the Second International Congress of Asian Hemp Industry (第２回アジア大麻産業国際会議) held in Donghae (Korea) at the Hangzhong University from the 20th to the 23rd of November, 7 years after the first congress took place. Participants from Japan, China and South Korea [jp] debated the hemp industry...
The Balkans: Tragic Legacy
Cafe Turco writes on the inaccuracies in Resolution 819 film and posts a translation of Hasan Nuhanović's article that challenges “the veracity of some scenes.” Srebrenica Genocide Blog writes on a recent exhumation of “50 complete and 883 partial human remains of Srebrenica genocide victims” and links to a documentary...
Philippines: When a City is Not a City
GV Author Karlo Mongaya looks at the reactions of bloggers to the recent Supreme Court decision voiding the cityhood of 16 new cities in the Philippines.
Central & Eastern Europe: A Roma Roundup
A few Roma-related posts: Inside Albania muses on the U.S. election and concludes that having a Roma PM in Albania will remain “pure fantasy” for quite a while; Romano Them links to a report on the situation with the Roma in Kosovo; Hungarian Spectrum reported on Nov. 20 that “[i]n...
Czech Republic: Milan Kundera Controversy
Belatedly, a link to the post on Milan Kundera controversy – at Balkans via Bohemia.
Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan: Calling Attention to Tragedy
Window on Eurasia writes: “Kyiv’s efforts to call attention to Stalin’s terror famine on the 75th anniversary of that tragedy and especially its moves to gain international recognition of it as a genocide against the Ukrainian people has generated much criticism by Russian officials from President Dmitry Medvedev on down...
Russia: The Crisis and Constitutional Changes
Robert Amsterdam writes about “the uses and expediency” of Beslan in 2004 and the current financial crisis for Russia's leaders: “[…] an opportunity to pass measures to further consolidate authority.”
Latvia: The Crisis and Freedom of Speech
Free Speech Emergency in Latvia wrote on Nov. 22: “A university lecturer was arrested for two days for making comments at a public discussion of the economy, while a musician was questioned for joking about taking money out of a bank during a concert.” More coverage of the situation –...
Mumbai and Terror: The Day After
An attack of this scale has surprised the entire country. While India is no stranger to bomb blasts and attacks by terrorists, a prolonged hostage situation at prominent landmarks is a complete surprise. The last hostage situation that was covered this extensively was the hijacking of a flight in 1999....
Bahrain: The problem of road rage
Bahrain Taxi is disappointed at the sentence given to a man in the UAE for deliberately driving over a pedestrian in his Hummer: “The pathetic ten year sentence which probably won't be ten years sends the message that road rage is not a serious problem and that losing your temper...
India: Who are they, and what is the Media saying?
Smoke Signals slams the mainstream media coverage of the event, as the television screens are filled with almost panic inducing sequences, and hurried question and answer sessions. At the time that this post is being written, the gun battles are still going on in at least one of the hotels...
Dominica: Sexual Offences Act
Dominica's Speaker of the House thinks that non-consensual sex – even within marriage – should be deemed criminal and Chris at Dominica Weekly agrees: “A lot of men in Dominica believe that once a woman says ‘I Do’ – that she has given up all her rights as a human...
Trinidad & Tobago: Licensing Issue
As the license plate of the Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister's car is deemed “illegal”, Jumbie's Watch writes two scathing posts on the matter, here and here.
