· June, 2007

Stories about Politics from June, 2007

Iran: Protestors Torch Gas Stations

Enraged Iranian protesters torched several gas stations in Tehran and other cities on Wednesday, after the Iranian government announced fuel rationing for private vehicles. There is news item in Ilna [Fa], Iranian Labour news agency, reporting that people were killed in Yasouj, in southwestern Iran, during the protest. Iran is...

Haiti: Laid-off Teleco Haiti workers compensated

  30 June 2007

Collectif-Haiti-de-Provence writes about Haitian president Rene Preval's decision to compensate workers (Fr) who were illegally laid off from the state-owned telecom, Teleco Haiti. The government plans on privatizing Teleco, a move that will undoubtedly bring violent demonstrations from those who stand to lose out, Collectif writes, but that those who...

Colombia: Outrage and Anger at FARC for the Death of 11 Lawmakers

  29 June 2007

Colombians awoke on the morning of June 28 to the news that 11 of 12 kidnapped deputies had been killed. The word from the FARC rebel group was that they were caught in the crossfire when the Colombian army staged a rescue attempt, however, many bloggers do not buy their explanation, as contempt for this group continues to grow and grow.

Iran: Rushdie and Bin Laden

Mohmmad Ali Abtahi,blogger and former vice president criticised both Queen Elizabeth and Islamists for attributing titles to Salman Rushdie and Osama Bin Laden. The Queen made Salman Rushdie a Knight and some Islamists call Bin Laden, Seifallah, God's Sword.

Bahrain: The Tale of a ‘Legal Slave’

No longer a tax haven, people in Bahrain are fuming at the introduction of a one per cent tax to benefit an Unemployment Fund. Bloggers caught on the bug and are ranting and fuming on their blogs in this report by Ayesha Saldanha. In other related matters, bloggers talk about a new law which bans workers from working between noon and 4pm in the summer heat, lavish weddings and the forgotten 'martyrs' of the civil unrest which rocked Bahrain in the 90s.

Grenada: Three of “13” Set Free

  29 June 2007

Notes From The Margin is appalled that three of the Grenada 13 who executed former Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and members of his Cabinet in 1983 have been set free.

Bosnia & Herzegovina: Miroslav Lajcak

Balkanizer posts a lengthy and detailed post on the legacy of the outgoing High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina: “[…] an unrefined and unedited thinking about the departure of the old High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina (Christian Schwarz-Schilling) and the arrival of new HR – Slovakian diplomat Miroslav Lajcak.”

Iran:Persepolis pulled from Bangkok Film Festival

  29 June 2007

Cityboy informs us that the Bangkok International Film Festival dropped Marjan Satrapi's prize-winning animated movie,Persepolis.The blogger says Iranian embassy in Thailand announced that Festival managers responded positively to a request from the Iranian Embassy in Bangkok.The movie follows Satrapi's life through the 1979 Islamic revolution,war and mass executions.

Japan should work with China to tackle photochemical smog problem

  29 June 2007

Some scientists have been arguing that air pollution in China is responsible for increased incidents of photochemical smog in Japan. Kaz points out Japan's responsibility as a nation which suffered its own pollution in the past and says that Japan should build a good working relation with China in order...

Japan: Distance between NHK and Government

  29 June 2007

The recent appointment of Komori Shigetaka, who is a close acquaintance of PM Abe Shinzo, as an NHK's management committee member has raised a controversy over the possibility of the government's intervention in public broadcast. Blogger Miepong draws on and analyzes discussions in the Japanese blogosphere as well as mainstream...

Lebanon: Syria's “in the eye of the storm”

A strange conversation took place last April between Syrian president Bashar El Assad and UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon, writes Sophia. The meeeting ends with Bashar El Assad telling Ban Ki Moon: “We are in the eye of the storm. You will need to stay in contact with us.”

Egypt: Freedom of Worship, Blogs to the Press, Anti-torture Campaigns Continue and More

In this week’s round-up from the Egyptian blogosphere, I am highlighting freedom of worship from two blog posts by Big Pharaoh and Baha’i Faith in Egypt, how an Egyptian blogger has started covering blogs for a weekly newspaper in Egypt, how anti-torture campaigns by bloggers extend to one of Egypt’s coastal cities and finally a technological tip by Greendata blog for Facebook users.