· August, 2011

Stories about Law from August, 2011

India: Corruption Begins At Home

  18 August 2011

Amidst all the brouhaha about the recent Anti-corruption campaign in India, Vijay Menon points out that it is the ordinary public who encourage corruption one way or another. Vijay asks: “Aren't WE the real problem?”

Brazil: Loggers Threaten Government Officials in the Amazon

  17 August 2011

Police officers and officials from the Brazilian government's agencies dedicated to the environment (Ibama) and indigenous rights (Funai) were surrounded and threatened by a group of about 60 loggers in the Amazon forest on August 12. Journalist Leonardo Sakamoto reports [pt] that the loggers wanted to prevent the seizure of...

Russia: Arresting Political Opposition

  17 August 2011

Vladimir Kara-Murza of Spotlight on Russia argues that Putin's Russia is becoming increasingly Kafkaesque as opposition leader Boris Nemtsov again – twice in two days – has been arrested for exercising political rights and freedoms, at the same time as Prime Minister Putin is seemingly becoming all the more detached...

Ukraine: Closing Window to West

  17 August 2011

LEvko of Foreign Notes writes about increasing western critique against the trials against former Ukrainian Prime Minister, Yulia Timoshenko, and several of her ex-colleagues, and how this – combinded with corruption and bad business climate – is effectively closing the window to integration with the European Union.

China and Hong Kong: Citizen Arrested for Wearing Political T-Shirt

  17 August 2011

A Hong Kong man was dragged off and detained yesterday because of the T-shirt he was wearing. The incident happened during a visit to the city by China's future premier Li Keqiang. Today, local bloggers are demanding answers to several questions, starting with concerns over the sanctity of Hong Kong's laws.

Bulgaria: Mapping Crime and Electoral Violations

  17 August 2011

Bulgarian blogger Boyan Yurukov has set up Bulgaria's first Ushahidi-based site, Crime.bg, whose goal is to collect signals of crimes and irregularities, via the site itself as well as through mobile applications, Twitter and Facebook. On his blog, Yurukov explained the reasons [bg] for creating Crime.bg: “1. People's lack of...

Vietnam: Blogger Pham Minh Hoang Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison

  16 August 2011

On August 10, 2011, Pham Minh Hoang, a math teacher and political blogger, has been sentenced to 3 years in prison and an additional 3 years of house arrest; he was charged with “attempt to overthrow the [vietnamese] goverment”  reports Reporters Without Borders [fr].  Hoang, who  has been in pre-trial...

Peru: New Bills for a New Congress

  16 August 2011

Miguel Morachimo in Blawyer [es] comments on two bills currently being discussed by Peru's new Congress. One is “another attempt to change the Penal Code to establish the dissemination of private conversations through the media as a crime”, and the other seeks to create a “Computer crime law” which adds...

Trinidad & Tobago: Meet Morvant

  16 August 2011

“As a true-blue, third-generation Morvant denizen, I realize that most people know not of the Morvant of which they speak”: Outlish fills us in about life in this Port of Spain suburb, which is all too often stigmatized.

Cuba: Everyday Violence

  16 August 2011

“We are a society where a blow and a scream have replaced words, let’s admit it and begin to look for solutions for it”: Generation Y blogs about “violence not reflected in the official media.”

Jamaica: No Love for Gays?

  16 August 2011

“The situation in Jamaica concerning the status and well-being of its homosexual citizens continues to evolve in a one step forward-two steps backward manner”: Active Voice explains.

Russia: New Legislation to Allow “Creative Commons” License

RuNet Echo  16 August 2011

Russian Communication Ministry submitted  to President Medvedev a project for legislation update that would allow using “Creative Commons” (CC) copyright license in Russia, newspaper Vedomosti reports [ru]. The project is a follow-up to a meeting between Medvedev and leaders of Russian Internet community [en] where the president promised to support...

Lebanon: Checkpoint Detention

Danielle at This is Beirut writes about her experience during the detention and release of her friend (for a couple of hours) at a security checkpoint, as they were returning to Beirut after a day at a winery in the Bekaa Valley.

Cuba: First “Gay” Marriage

  15 August 2011

This past weekend, a gay man and a trans-sexual woman, got married. In Cuba - on the same day that Fidel Castro turned 85. Bloggers weigh in on the landmark event, including Cuba's most well-known netizen, Yoani Sanchez, who acted as matron of honour.