· May, 2010

Stories about Politics from May, 2010

Caucasus: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia make Eurovision Top Ten

This year's Eurovision Song Contest drew to a close on a Saturday in a televised final which attracted around 125 million viewers worldwide. But while some media reported lagging interest in the 54-year-old competition and concerns about spiraling costs, countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia continue to take it very seriously indeed.

31 May 2010

Peru: The Return of the Indigenous Leader Alberto Pizango

After more than 11 months in exile in Nicaragua following the events and conflicts in the region of Bagua, indigenous leader Alberto Pizango returned to Peru on May 26, sparking different responses from Twitter users and bloggers supporting or criticizing him.

31 May 2010

MENA: Rage after Israel Attacks Gaza-bound Flotilla

Emotions are running high across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), after Israel attacked a peaceful flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to besieged Gaza - and the Twittersphere is ablaze. Also, are tweets commenting on the situation being censored?

31 May 2010

Japan: Okinawans vent frustration over Futenma

Japanese PM Yukio Hatoyama has backtracked on promises to reduce the presence of American military forces in Okinawa, and inhabitants of the prefecture are furious. In blogs, they express their disappointment and rage against the failed Japan-U.S. negotiations.

31 May 2010

Russia: Journalist's Blog Hacked

RuNet Echo

Both LiveJournal (sina-ja-mina) and Facebook accounts of Andrei Maltsev [RUS], journalist and blogger, were hacked on May 31, Vladimir Pribylovski reported [RUS]. This is the fourth blog hack this year...

31 May 2010

Macedonia: Silly Songs Do Politics

The anthem published by the youth branch of the Socialist Party of Macedonia on YouTube was talk of the town on social networks and beyond as part of ridiculous advertising songs trend.

30 May 2010

Russia: A Study of Local Discussion Boards

RuNet Echo

Online forums in Russian cities are in a certain sense a unique phenomenon. It's not blogs that became the major platforms for open discussion in the regions, but discussion boards (called more often forums). Alexey Sidorenko shares some of the results of his study of local forums in Russia.

30 May 2010

Georgia: Online local election mapping

Transparency International Georgia, the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, the Georgian Young Lawyers Association, the National Democratic Institute and the Caucasus Resource Research Center have set up an...

30 May 2010

Pakistan: Minorities At Peril

“The thirty years of state sponsored “true” Islam is showing its colors. In Pakistan all the minorities are constantly harassed and state’s protection has often proved completely ineffective when a...

28 May 2010