Stories about Politics from April, 2009
Morocco: AIDS, Money and Sex Toys
Morocco has a reputation of tolerance, and although this is mainly a young and fairly open society there are still instances of prejudices suffered by people infected with HIV/AIDS, and the stigma attached to the disease, writes Hisham, as his country marked a nationwide day of campaigning, information and screening on April 25.
Cuba: Right to Travel
“Hasn’t it been said already—by enough voices—that the requirement for permission to leave and enter Cuba has to be repealed?”: Generation Y wants to know “What more has to happen to stop them from hijacking this right from us?”
Bermuda, Turks & Caicos: Better Representation
Vexed Bermoothes is disappointed in his Premier's performance at the recently concluded Fifth Summit of the Americas: “I wish he had stuck to working for Bermudians’ benefit rather than playing cheerleader for the discredited TCI administration.”
Trinidad & Tobago: What's Happening?
Trinidad diaspora blogger Jumbie's Watch is not pleased with recent developments in his home country: “Have criminals become so hardened that they wage war on children now?”
St. Lucia: Ideas on the Strike
As members of the civil service take strike action in St. Lucia, Sun Rain Or… says: “It would be a welcome change is if St. Lucians found the time and impetus not to go back to inaction in between this and the next crisis.”
Central & Eastern Europe: Racism Roundup
The beatroot writes about Poland's boycott of the UN conference on fighting racism; Hungarian Spectrum writes about the Hungarian Guard and Holocaust denial; coverage of Slovenia's neo-Nazis – here and here, by Sleeping With Pengovsky, as well as here, by Piran Cafe; Borut Peterlin posts photos from an anti-fascist rally...
Ukraine, Russia: Tymoshenko-Pugacheva Duet
Ukrainiana writes about a Yulia Tymoshenko-Alla Pugacheva duet.
Russia: Sochi Election
Sean's Russia Blog writes about the results of the Sochi mayoral election.
Brazil: Fly me to the moon with public money
Another scandal has taken the Brazilian blogosphere by storm – it has come to light that public money is being used to fund holidays abroad for parliament members and their family, friends and acquaintances. As bloggers report, it seems that an even bigger scheme to resell unused air ticket is to be exposed.
Cuba: Strike of the Period?
Cuba's ration market for feminine hygiene products is not always reliable, prompting Generation Y to envision “a ‘Strike of the Period,’ a massive protest marked by the ovulation cycle.”
India: Why Vote For Congress?
Harini Calamur at the Point Of View gives logic why she is voting for the Congress Party in the Indian Elections 2009.
Haiti, U.S.A.: TPS for Haitians
jmc strategies reports that ” the New York City Council adopted…a resolution urging Congress to pass legislation granting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Haitian nationals in the United States.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Re-engineering
“In Trinidad and Tobago engineers and scientist are not encouraged to build and innovate”: This Beach Called Life explains.
Jamaica: Gas Tax
“I've come to the conclusion that there is some irrational link between the price of gas in Jamaica and public tolerance levels”: Annie Paul thinks that the imposition of the gas tax is “long overdue”.
South Africa: Why I miss South Africa
Rod explains why he misses South Africa: As I watch the electoral process unfold in SA from China I feel proud of my country. My heart jolted as I wrote the words, “my country”. The elections are being done peacefully, democratically.
Indian Elections '09: On the Black Money trail
Black money stashed away in overseas tax havens/secret Swiss bank accounts - is not a new topic in India. However, the very same topic is generating quite a bit of heat in the ongoing parliamentary Elections in India. The Indian blogosphere weighs on the issue.
South Africa: ANC and Democratic Alliance 2004 versus 2009
Michael Trapido compares the results of the African National Congress (ANC) and Democratic Alliance (DA) in the 2009 election with those that they achieved in 2004.
China: Who is Siemen's Man in China?
Tword last week that a ban had been sent down on any reporting of the Siemens bribery case led netizens to realize that the case involves someone in China, and the growing [zh] consensus seems to rest on Jiang Zemin's son, Jiang Mianheng. ProPublica is still looking to name names.
Japan: The Trouble with ‘Free’ Money
As part of an economic stimulus package, the Japanese government is spending two trillion JPY for cash handouts to boost consumer spending. To put it simply, all Japanese citizens and those registered as residents will receive 12,000 JPY, or 20,000 JPY for those under 18 or over 65, once they've lodged their application forms.
Armenia: Internal politics and international relations
The pro-opposition tzitzernak2 comments on speculation that the Armenian Revolutionary Federation — Dashnaktsutyun (ARF-D) might leave the coalition government after last weeks announcement of progress made in normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations. The blog says the move is long overdue and blames the nationalist party for many of the problems the country...
Azerbaijan: Blog round-up
Writing on his In Mutatione Fortitudo, Global Voices Online Azerbaijan author Ali S. Novruzov says that Radio Free Europe has started to pay attention to the local blogosphere. However, he notes, the station needs to learn a few important lessons about blogging and citizen media.
