Stories about Politics from September, 2010
Venezuela: A day in the life of an electoral worker
The Devil's Excrement shares, “A day in the life of an electoral worker in Venezuela.”
Slovenia: Elections Overview, Part 1 – “The Mayor”
Sleeping With Pengovsky posts Part 1 of the election overview, explaining in detail the upcoming vote for mayors of 208 municipalities, including the city of Ljubljana.
Ukraine: Calls to Dismiss Deputy Defense Minister
Foreign Notes writes about a scandal involving Ukraine's deputy minister of defense, Oleksandr Cherpitsky, who is reported to have had a criminal past.
Russia: Lost and Found in Translation
Poemless posts a follow-up to her earlier entry about the contemporary Russian literature available in English.
Russia: “The Putin State Chronicles”
Streetwise Professor recommends Dmitry Sidorov's new blog at Forbes – The Putin State Chronicles – which provides “some great examples of the natural/mafia state in action.”
Czech Republic: Protest Against Wage Cuts
Dr Sean's Diary writes about a trade union-organized protest against wage and budget cuts in the public sector, which took place in Prague last week.
Russia: Gay Activists Protest on Luzhkov's Birthday
The Moscow Diaries writes about last week's gay rights activists’ protest against Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov: “It was sad to see, this protest. The protesters were so few that they were barely visible among the gajillion photographers and two gajillion police officers. Within a few minutes, eleven of the protesters...
China: Glory to the Stability Maintenance Contractors
Yesterday, September 26, the Chinese Government released its white paper on human rights. The Xinhua news report highlighted the positive aspect of the role of Internet freedom for the government to gauge public opinion and improve its governance.
South Korea:Korea Won the U-17 Women’s World Cup
South Korea won the U-17 Women's World Cup for the first time.Korea’s online media Pressian[kr] focused on women team’s humble beginning; it started out to boost cultural exchanges with North Korea, and the player's quality was an optional matter. In 1990, it lost to Japan by 13-1 and to North...
Russia: Shnurov's “Khimki Forest” Song
A Good Treaty writes about and translates Sergei Shnurov's “Khimki Forest” song, “an obvious satire of liberal-leaning musicians prone to activist art.”
Zimbabwe: Child Sues for $1.6 Million
Reaction to an article about a tortured child in Zimbabwe who has sued for $ 1. 6 million.’ The child was incarcerated in prison where he suffered beatings from the state in 2008 in an attempt to force confessions from his ‘political activist parents’.
Sudan: A Look at Preparations for Referendum
Amanda discusses preparations for referendum in South Sudan: “On Wednesday, a seven-member technical committee revealed the lyrics to South Sudan’s new national anthem, titled “South Sudan Oyee!””
Russia: Controversy On Twitter Use in the Government
Russian General Prosecutor's Office registered [RUS] a Twitter-account @genproc [RUS]. Previously [RUS], Federal Anti-monopoly Service got @rus_fas [RUS] account. While more than 20 high [RUS] Russian officials already started tweeting, country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is sceptical about the new media which it considers an “information weapon.”
Belarus President Refused to Start a Blog
Blogger pilgrim-67 sarcastically comments [RUS] on Alexander Lukashenko's decision not to start a blog [RUS]: “That's a pity. I would be excited to read about Belarus cows and gaz wars in his blog […] I think his blog would be more lively than Medvedev's.”
Brazil: Mainstream media flaw on Senator's life condition
The politician Romeu Tuma [pt], a candidate for reelection in the Brazilian Senate, was wrongly announced dead by national mainstream media on September 24, “despite the fact he's alive, although, at the hospital”, as Pierre Lucena from blog Acerto de Contas [Getting even, pt] comments.
Nobel Peace Prize should go to Liu Xiaobo
Xu Youyu, philosopher and professor with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, wrote an open letter (English translation here) to call for international support for this year's Nobel Peace Prize to be awarded to Liu Xiaobo, the imprisoned author of China's Charter 08. Meanwhile, C. Custer at ChinaGeeks commented on...
The Invisible Border Between Ecuador and Colombia
The Colombia-Ecuador border is once again a contentious issue. Both countries have a border of 586 km and with it a long history of conflict, mutual accusations and reports of armed conflict and displacement.
Ethiopia: The Ogadeni Problem
semantic Eritrea discusses Ethiopia's Ogadeni problem: “Back in 2007, Ogadeni rebels overpowered the defenses of a petrol company. This shocked the companies in the region and the Ethiopian government.”
Sudan: How to Fix a Referendum
Lessons from Sudan on how to fix a referendum: “For not only has registration failed to begin (the stipulated date was July of this year), it is still not fully clear who is eligible to vote and what defines eligibility.”
Ethiopia/USA: Protesters and supporters welcome Meles Zenawi
Konobusiness blogs about the controversial visit by Ethiopian Prime Minister to Columbia University: “The intensity of the crowd, both pro and anti-Zenawi, caught police officers off guard as they were not wholly prepared for the number of people arriving.”
Anti-censorship webmaster arrested in Thailand
The webmaster of an independent online journal in Thailand was arrested at Bangkok airport today on charges of insulting the monarchy. Local mainstream media has been quiet about the issue but twitterers are providing information and other updates which help sustain the campaign to demand the freedom of the arrested activist
