Stories about Politics from April, 2010
USA: Rallying Cries for Immigration Reform
In the United States, immigration reform activists have taken to the streets - and the internet - in order to create momentum for comprehensive changes in immigration law.
Iran: Hard-line blogs got filtered
The hard-line, pro-Ahmadinejad “Rajanews” website has protested against the filtering of hard-line blogs.
Sudan: On post election violence
Sudan Field Researcher Maggie Fick for Enough Said looks at the political tensions underlying four races in the South: “Ballots have been cast and counted in South Sudan, but the...
Is Ghana’s first-ever Policy Fair a smart move?
On April 19, 2010, Ghana’s Ministry of Information launched a Facebook page dubbed “Ghana Policy Fair 2010,” an event that was slated to begin on April 27th through May 1st. But not everyone has been thrilled with this idea.
Trinidad & Tobago: Election Issues
Both KnowTnT.com and Trinidad diaspora blogger Jumbie's Watch comment on “the resignation of High Court judge Herbert Volney and early retirement of Acting Senior Magistrate Ramraj Harripersad in order to...
Bermuda: Campaign Finance
“I agree that political funding in Bermuda needs reform but doubt that our politicians – in any of the three tribes – have the stomach to tackle it”: Vexed Bermoothes...
Iran: A ‘Green’ Labor Day (At Least Online)
The Iranian Green Movement is planning to make International Workers Day on May 1 a “green” day. The post-election opposition movement has not held any important demonstration since their last attempts were thwarted in February.
China: The un-natural death in the Chinese detention center
Damon from interlocals published a video on the issue of un-natural death in the Chinese detention center.
Russia: The 2009 Killing of Umar Israilov
Robert Amsterdam writes about Ramzan Kadyrov's alleged involvement in the 2009 murder of Umar Israilov in Vienna, and links to C.J. Chivers’ New York Times investigative piece, whose opening paragraph...
Hungary: Political and Economic News
Commentary on the recent developments in the Hungarian politics and the economy – at Hungarian Spectrum, here and here, and at A Fistful of Euros.
Russia: “Burnt By the Box Office”
Vadim Nikitin of Foreign Policy Association's Russia blog reviews the reactions to Nikita Mikhalkov's Burnt by the Sun 2, “Russia’s most expensive movie.”
Russia: More Commentary on Sex Video Scandal
A Good Treaty comments – here and here – on the sex video scandals involving members of the Russian opposition, notes an increase in blog traffic (“nothing brings visitors to...
China: The 42th anniversary of Lin Zhao's death
Lin Zhao (林昭）, a Peking University student, was arrested in 1960 during the Anti-Rightist Campaign launched by Mao Zedong in 1957 and sentenced to death on 29 of April (today)...
Thailand: Online censorship amid protests
As Red Shirt protesters in Thailand continue to press their demand for the resignation of the Prime Minister, the government is also doing everything to weaken the protests, including the use of emergency powers to block TV stations, community radio stations, and websites that broadcast “subversive” stories.
Ukraine: Chaotic Ratification of the Gas-for-Fleet Deal
Below is some of the Anglophone blog commentary on the ratification of the Ukrainian-Russian gas-for-fleet deal, which took place in a chaotic environment on April 27 in Kyiv. Among other things, security guards were forced to employ two umbrellas to shelter the parliament speaker from the eggs hurled at him by opposition members.
Bahamas: Free Markets & the Environment
Bahama Pundit‘s Larry Smith blogs about Earth Day and free market environmentalism.
Trinidad & Tobago: Checking the Facts
KnowTnT.com‘s Edmund Gall thinks “it would be nice if a couple professional journalists in T&T could produce a weekly fact-check column for the duration of the elections.”
Cuba: It's the Economy
“You can count on one hand the number of foreign investors who have kept their businesses in Cuba”: Iván's File Cabinet thinks that the Cuban economy is sinking.
Bermuda: Lack of Governance
Vexed Bermoothes calls the extension of a hotel's lease to 120 years “stunning”, adding: “This is a failure in governance and in accountability.”
Africa: Driving With Fanon
Driving with Fanon is a new film by a South African artist Kwena Mokwena. It is about violence, memory and the human condition in post-colonial Africa.
Sudan: We will never know who won the election?
Discussing the official results of election in Sudan Muawia Abdel Karim argues that nobody will ever know who really won the election: “The counting of votes has been so chaotic...
