Stories about Media & Journalism from June, 2008
Israel: Sarkozy Security Scare at Airport
As French President Nicholas Sarkozy departed Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport, shots rang out. A quick assessment revealed that one of the Israeli members of Sarkozy's security detail had turned his weapon on himself, apparently committing suicide. The victim, whose name has not been revealed at his family's request, was in his...
Kuwait: Video Games, Newspapers and Female Bloggers
Who should regulate the video gaming scene in Kuwait? This and many other questions are on the minds of Kuwaiti bloggers in this round up. Forzaq8 speaks of laws dealing with video games and who he thinks should regulate them. He writes: Politics shouldn’t interfere in games , i was...
Russia: Media on the eXile
Sean's Russia Blog reviews media coverage of the “eXile Affair.”
Russia: Yavlinsky Steps Down
Grigory Yavlinsky steps down as Yabloko Party's leader – “a bigger deal in the international press than in Russian papers,” FP's Passport reports.
Russia, Ukraine: Energy Issues
Kremlin.Inc posts his presentation on Ukraine's energy policy; Robert Amsterdam writes on Gazprom and Anatoly Chubais.
Palestine: She Shoots, She Scores
Muna Nawajaa has scored a victory for social justice. Using a camera given to her by B'Tselem's Shooting Back project, Palestinian Nawajaa recorded the masked beating of members of her family, resulting in an investigation and arrest of suspects by Israeli police. In a post entitled “Cameras as Weapons,” Uriel...
Morocco: Shutting down Al Jazeera?
After a clash between protestors and police in Sidi Ifni lead to injuries and possible deaths, Al Jazeera issued a report at a news conference held by the Moroccan Human Rights Centre that several protestors had been killed. The Moroccan authorities, angered by the report, charged Al Jazeera's Rabat bureau...
Israel: Broken Truce Angers Israelis
Six days after Israeli and Palestinian forces brokered a ceasefire agreement, four kassam rockets fired from Gaza blasted the Western Negev. Islamic Jihad claimed credit for the attack, while Hamas, Palestine's ruling party, encouraged “all Palestinian factions to abide by the calm agreement,” asserting, “Hamas is keen to maintain the...
Poland: More on Lech Wałęsa
A debate on Lech Wałęsa continues at Polandian: “a hero / a lesser hero / a traitor. Choose your title.” Raf Uzar posts on the controversy as well.
Macedonia, Greece: More on the Conflict
Say: Macedonia discusses a Spiegel article on the Greek-Macedonian conflict and writes about a case brought by the Aegean Macedonian refugees before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Bulgaria: More on June 28 Sofia Gay Pride
What's Going Down? writes about the opposition to Bulgaria's first-ever Gay Pride Parade, which is set to take place in Sofia on June 28: “…local right-wing political groups have, predictably, begun publicly denouncing the event in ways that range from the merely embarrassing and depressing to the downright alarming.”
Azerbaijan: Media Concerns
Writing on AFP's Correspondent blog, the news organization's Caucasus Bureau Chief, Michael Mainville, laments the state of the media in Azerbaijan. The post recognizes the pressures and restrictions in place on local journalists in the oil-rich country and comments on the case of Agil Khalil who has been recognized by...
Armenia: European Media Demands
Following last week's landmark ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, Unzipped comments on the importance of the judgment for the embattled A1 Plus TV station which was deprived of its broadcasting frequency by the authorities in 2002. The blog says that pressure on the government to allow it...
Uzbekistan: Fighting internet censorship
Today, Uzbekistan is remaining one of the repressive countries in the region that maintains a tight grip on mass media. Despite it has all the nominal guarantees of the freedom of speech, the media is being systematically attacked by the government. The article 5 in the law of the Republic...
Hong Kong: No Blogger Accreditation
Thomas Crampton talked to the Hong Kong government’s Director of Information Services Betty Fung, who said Hong Kong does not recognize bloggers for accreditation to official media events and she has never received a request for accreditation from a blogger.
China: Politicization of Xiaonei.com
Xiaonei.com is one of the largest social networking site in China targeting at university students. ESWN translated an article from my1510 on the recent politicization within the network.
Bahamas: Words of Advice
WeblogBahamas thinks the late Tim Russert's advice to his college-bound son should be adopted by Bahamians, especially the part about not cultivating a sense of entitlement.
Kazakhstan: Astana Anniversary
Joshua Foust is ironic saying that Kazakhstan seems to have no other problems than how to light its not-fake capital’s overly elaborate 10th anniversary.
Thailand: Sensational news reports
Tom in Thailand advises media outlets not to use the words “mob” and “seige” in reporting the protest actions in Thailand
Philippines: Unreliable typhoon report
A strong typhoon hit the Philippines this weekend. Weather reports are not updated, according to the Dusk Chronicles.
Georgia: Abkhaz Tensions
Steady State comments on how the media in Georgia reports on continuing tensions with Russia over the breakaway region of Abkhazia. The blog implies that the media is being used to encourage such tensions and says that if there was any real interest in peace then a different approach would...