Stories about Politics from November, 2011
Trinidad & Tobago: The Colman Commission
“The Colman Commission was established about a year ago as a Public Enquiry into the failure of the CL Financial group”, explains Afra Raymond, adding: “The sole Commissioner, Sir Anthony Colman, has now made a statement which outlines his progress in this huge and complex matter…despite all the evidence about...
Russia: Digital Oppression Hits Web Forums as Election Approaches
As the Russian parliamentary election comes closer, dispersed attacks on regional discussion boards have turned into a massive wave of digital oppression. Alexey Sidorenko reports on several cases.
Yemen: Will Saleh Sign the GCC Deal that the Youth Oppose?
Yemenis have patiently waited ten months too many for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down. Now he says he will sign a GCC brokered deal which transfers power to his deputy. Netizens react to the news under the hashtag #No2GCCdeal on Twitter.
Russia: PM Putin Gets Booed – “End of an Era” or “Wishful Thinking”?
When Prime Minister Vladimir Putin stepped out to congratulate Mixed Martial Arts champion Fedor Emelianenko on November 20, he was visibly taken aback when he received a less than warm response from Moscow spectators. Donna Welles reports.
Egypt: The Revolution is Back!
Up to 100,000 people are said to be in Tahrir Square now, as police and the army continue to battle with protesters calling for an end to Egypt's military rule. Protesters have had running battles with the armed gunmen serving the Egyptian government since Friday.
Iran: Ahmadinejad's top adviser under pressure
Iranian judiciary officials raided, government's official newspapers’ building and tired to arrest Ali Akbar Javanfekr,top aide to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on Monday.Here is a film showing this attack in You Tube.
El Salvador: Calle 13 Performs for Rice and Beans
Puerto Rican music duo Calle 13 performed in El Salvador on Saturday, November 19; the ticket fee, as Voices from El Salvador reports, “was a donation of rice, beans or other grains that will be distributed to flood victims.” Hunnapuh [es] blogged about Calle 13 and the controversy around their...
Chile: Citizens Fight to Save Valparaiso's Emblematic Elevators
Valparaíso’s 130-year-old elevators are teetering on the brink of extinction and locals are taking to the streets and social media to fight for them. The World Monuments Fund has named them one of the world’s 100 most endangered historical treasures.
Egypt: Revolutionaries Shrug at Cabinet Resignation
The Cabinet of Dr Essam Sharaf has just asked if it could resign and the Supreme Council for Armed Forces (SCAF) is yet to decide whether it would accept their resignation or not. For activists and protesters battling police and the army for the third day in and around Tahrir Square, the news does not bring anything new to the table. Their main demand is for SCAF to leave power and hand over authority to a civil government.
Tanzania: How Not to Launch a Data.gov
Mbwana Ally explains how not to lauch a Data.gov: “Checking my twitter stream I saw that the Tanzania Government had launched a Open Data website initiative (Kiswahili)…The complaints on twitter started mounting and I gladly participated. Where is the data? The SMS no. set up does not work. The site...
Morocco: Online Debates Rage Days Ahead of Parliamentary Elections
Moroccan are using the Internet extensively to discuss the upcoming legislative elections. Part of the discussion is revolving around the electoral programs of the competing parties, the question of whether to boycott or participate in the poll and the role played by the pro-democracy youth movement, February 20.
Malawi: The President Talks Better in English Than Chichewa
Gregory Gondwe argues the Malawian president talk better in English than Chichewa, a Bantu language widely spoken in Malawi: “Whether it is a piece of fortune or a curse it is not for me to say. I believe there is evidence that two of our three Executive Heads that have...
Cuba: Ladies Detained Again
The Ladies in White were once again attacked this weekend as they tried to attend Mass, babalu reports; two of the group's members are allegedly “still being held in a Castro prison.”
Trinidad & Tobago: The Blame Game
Plain Talk is “flabbergasted” by a statement made by the Minister of Works calling for “an end to what he calls the ‘blame’ game because there is…critical work to be done”, saying: “No Jack sorry, we cannot put an end to the ‘blame’ game, it's the only game we have.”
Cuba: Overseas Voting
“The attention with which the Spanish community on the Island follows the Spanish electoral process is surprising,” says Generation Y, suggesting that “among voters here there is a clear intention to push the policies of Madrid’s Moncloa Palace so that, in turn, something will move in the Plaza of the...
Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago: Emergency Experience
Chronicles from a Caribbean Cubicle suggests that Trinidad and Tobago could learn a thing or two from Jamaica when it comes to getting into emergency mode.
Russia: Kostroma Police Closes Discussion Board For Criticising Governor
The server of the Kostroma-based discussion board “Kostroma Jedis” (jedi.net.ru) had been confiscated by the police on November 16, 2011 (see police acts here [ru] and here [ru]). The website, which audience was about 12,000 visitors daily, was taken by the police ‘as an evidence’ in the investigation of libelling...
Egypt: Battle for Tahrir Continues for Third Day
The battle for Tahrir Square, in downtown Cairo, continues to rage for the third day today. Netizens keep us abreast with the action from the frontlines.
Ukraine: Netizens Appeal to Lithuanian President to Postpone Her Visit
Ukrainian netizens drafted an open letter to the Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė, asking her to postpone her visit to Ukraine, currently scheduled for Nov. 22, the seventh anniversary of the 2004 protests known as the Orange Revolution, and explaining that a court's decision to ban citizens from gathering for commemorative...
Ukraine: Tymoshenko Called “Unindicted Co-Conspirator” in Lazarenko Case
Ukrainiana comments on a former Assistant U.S. Attorney calling ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the case of another Ukrainian ex-PM, Pavlo Lazarenko, who is currently serving a 9-year sentence at a U.S. federal prison: We [U.S.] jail your former PM [Lazarenko] = prosecution. You [Ukraine] jail your former...
China: United States Begins ‘Pacific Century’, Online Nationalism Follows
As the US quickly asserts its position in the Asia-Pacific region, nationalist sentiment has leapt at similar speed from somewhat marginalized online communities to the top of China's largest blog portals.
