· March, 2011

Stories about Law from March, 2011

Jamaica: Enquiry No Laughing Matter

  31 March 2011

As the Manatt Dudus Enquiry is extended for the third time, GWAP comments: “A Commission that should have cost Jamaican tax payers JMD $37 million has now skyrocket[ed] to JMD $78 million!”, while Pray, Laugh, Grow thinks the whole debacle is anything but funny.

Kenyan Bloggers Form an Association; BAKE

  31 March 2011

On Friday 25th March, several Kenyan bloggers held a meeting in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, under the newly formed BAKE ( Bloggers Association Kenya). The meeting was the 4th in an initiative by some of Kenyas veteran bloggers .

Brazil: On Opening the Archives of the Dictatorship

  31 March 2011

A collective blogging was called to demand the opening of the archives of the Brazilian military dictatorship (1964-1985), responsible for torturing of thousands and for killing 380 Brazilians. Of these, 147 remain missing and nothing is known about the fate of their bodies. Until now their families are suffering without knowing their stories.

Russia: Mapping Bribery Online

RuNet Echo  30 March 2011

Anton Nosik shares [ru] a link to RosKomVzyatka (‘Russian Committee for Bribes’), Ushahidi-based platform that allows users to map bribes (both given and taken) anonymously. It's another transparency project after rospil.info, gdecasino.ru, otmenta.ru, and others that crowdsource crime/injustice reporting.

Russia: Blogger Translates Articles on Alexey Navalny

RuNet Echo  30 March 2011

LJ user vadda translates from English into Russian two recent texts about Alexey Navalny, a prominent Russian anti-corruption activist: one text, by Andrew E. Kramer, appeared in the New York Times on March 27 (the Russian translation is here; 266 comments); the other, by Julia Ioffe, was published in the...

Bolivia’s Conflicting Stance With the USA on Coca Chewing

  29 March 2011

The 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs ordered the elimination of chewing coca leaves within 25 years of the treaty going into effect. Bolivia has again resurfaced as a proponent to eliminate this UN ban. The US moved to block Bolivia’s request, further citing that an amendment to the article shows Bolivia’s lack of cooperation in the fight against the drug trade.

Russia: A Riot Police Officer's Twitter and Blog

RuNet Echo  29 March 2011

A Good Treaty writes about an anonymous Moscow riot police (OMON) officer, who started tweeting in January (@OMON_Moscow, RUS, over 3,000 followers) and also has a blog (LJ user omon-moscow, RUS): “While the fact that this blogging activity is tolerated by the police force likely constitutes evidence that the top...

Bhutan: No Resolve In The Possession Of Tobacco Debate

  28 March 2011

Tshering Tobgay reports that the Bhutan Narcotics Control Agency has rejected a plea by the Bhutan police to quantify the amount of tobacco possessed which can be criminalized under the Tobacco control act. “At this rate, many more of our fellow citizens will end up in jail,” opines Mr. Tobgay.

Colombia: Controversy Over Photos of Minors Published by Adult Magazine

  28 March 2011

An article, titled "Let the children come to me" (referencing Mark 10:14), which includes photos from an exhibition by photographer Mauricio Vélez depicting staged scenes of nude underage boys (or models pretending to be minors) being watched by actors dressed as Catholic priests has caused controversy both offline and online.

Russia: 2010 Cyber-Crime Market Research

RuNet Echo  28 March 2011

Group IB, Russian cyber-security research company, publishes [ru] Russian Cyber-Crime Market in 2010 report. According to the research, Russian hackers commit nearly 35 percent of all cyber-crimes. DDOS-attacks (from $90 to $300 per day of attack) are falling in price which makes this method of cyber-warfare more accessible to online...

Jamaica: Passing the Buck

  28 March 2011

“To date, the Enquiry has been fascinating and compelling TV”: Jamaica and the World reports on the latest developments in the Manatt Dudus Enquiry, which “involved politicians placing the blame on public servants/civil service employees.”

Russia: Tribute to SOVA's Galina Kozhevnikova

  27 March 2011

At OpenDemocracy.net, Andreas Umland pays tribute to Galina Kozhevnikova, the deputy director of the “SOVA” NGO and a prominent researcher of Russia's extreme right-wing movements, who died earlier this month: “She will be irreplaceable in future academic and public debates on the increase of ultra-nationalism in Russia.”