Stories about Protest from February, 2007
Pakistan: Online freedom of speech as collateral damage?
This flash animation is converted from the Powerpoint Presentation made by Dr Awab Alvi for “The Battle for the Internet.” conference (His presentation can be viewed here-original file .ppt) One year ago, on the 27th of February 2006, when the Danish cartoons controversy exploded, spawning waves of protest, anger...
Israel: A Predictable Misunderstanding
Israeli Blogger, from Thoughts from Israel, describes the latest escalation between the Arabs and Israelis over Al Aqsa as a “predictable misunderstanding.” “And so, once again, a stupid and inconsiderate action of some office in the Israeli government is perceived by Arabs as warmongering, thereby causing Arab panic and violence,...
Russia: Ivan Ushkov's Case
Ivan Ushkov, a St. Petersburg artist, had his computer and some of his work confiscated by the police; officers threatened to shut down his photo business located on Nevsky Prospekt. Both the Russian blogosphere and the media are abuzz about this ongoing controversy. Ushkov's work can be viewed here; English...
Armenia: A Real Alternative
The Armenian Libertarian-Socialist Movement blog notes the appearance of a new movement calling itself “The Alternative,” and examines whether or not the movement lives up to what it claims to be.
Arabisc: Bloggers Rally to Kareem's Support
Egyptian blogger Kareem Sulaiman was today (Thursday) sentenced to four years in prison for defaming Islam and Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak on his personal blog. Despite a support site, petitions and demonstrations in Bahrain, London, Stockholm, Paris, Rome, New York (twice) and Washington DC calling for his release, an Alexandria...
Bangladesh: Painted with my brother's blood
Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying on the song of freedom, love and loss. “There is a song that every Bangladeshi knows. It is a song that defines us as a people. It is a song about love and loss. The song in Bengali is called Amar Bhaier Rokte...
Bangladesh: Celebrating the Mother Language day
Today is the International Mother Language Day, an annual event in UNESCO member states to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. This is mostly the international recognition of Language Movement Day called ‘Ekushey February’, which is commemorated in Bangladesh since 1952, when a number of Bangla-speaking people were massacred...
Guinea, Senegal: Lansana Conté Must Leave if He Loves His Country
At Pourquoi l’ Afrique Claudique, Senegalese novelist Ndické Dieye tells (Fr) Guinea’s embattled head of state: “Lansana, leave if you have even an inkling of conscience or patriotism left! Leave to avoid an unnecessary blood bath! … I ask the police … to refuse to execute any illegal order given...
Hungary: A Podcast on Ciaran Tobin Case
An expat who killed two children in a car crash in Budapest has escaped punishment – Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar writes more about the case after the childrens’ father contacts him, “detailing what steps the family plans to take next.” He is also featured in this podcast at...
Trinidad & Tobago: Adventures in energy
The Liming House posts a part-allegory outlining Trinidad and Tobago's adventures in the energy trade.
What Salvadoran bloggers are saying — unable to escape the past
The ghosts of El Salvador's twelve year civil war continue to surface in the news from El Salvador. First there was the story of Will Salgado, mayor of the city of San Miguel. On January 29, the Washington Post ran a cover story on the aftermath of the civil war...
Mexico: Campesinos Protest Gold Mine in Guerrero
Mark in Mexico dedicates two posts to the recent protests by villagers in Guerrero, Mexico who are demanding 90,000 pesos per hectare per year for rent of the 700 hectares used by Luismin, a wholly owned subsidiary of Goldcorp.
Kazakhstan: Memorial Demonstration
neweurasia reports on a recent public demonstration marking the first anniversary of the murder of opposition leader Altynbek Sarsenbayev and calling for certain officials to resign and for government organs involved in the murder to be disbanded.
Senegal: Poor Working Conditions for Workers at a Chinese Owned Factory
Blog Politique du Sénégal outlines (Fr) poor working conditions for Senegalese workers at Henan Chine, a chinese-owned factory in Senegal: “Holidays are not paid, social contributions are not made even though they are withheld from salaries.” Adds the blog: “Can things be any different given the rights (or non-rights) of...
Arabisc: Pictorial Tour of the Middle East
Fed up of all the politics in the Middle East? Me too. This week we will take a pictorial tour of the region, making stops in Qatar, Bahrain, Tunisia and Lebanon, to name a few. There are real amazing photographers out there and the scenery and mood quickly changes from...
Deadwood cabinet stokes the fire of public ire in Zimbabwe
Facing unrelenting pressure for change, Zimbabwe's beleagured leader, Robert Mugabe, reshuffled his cabinet two weeks ago, but did little to aleviate the suffering of a nation that has been ravaged by a porous leadership and failing economy. The reshuffle, which wasn't much of a reshuffle, only saw one minister dismissed,...
Egypt: PETA Vs KFC
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) staged a rally against Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), in Cairo, wrote Issandr El Amrani in The Arabist.
Lebanon: Terrorist Attack and Hariri’s Commemoration
Two years ago, on February 14, a massive terrorist explosion targeting Rafic Hariri took away his life and the lives of many others. Fast forward, two years and many dramatic incidents later, the Lebanese marked the event with a mass rally in Martyr’s Square. A day before the memorial, a...
Russia, Estonia: The Bronze Soldier, Again
Vilhelm Konnander writes about Tallinn's Bronze Soldier monument: “Why is it that a WW II-monument repeatedly sparks bilateral crises between Estonia and Russia?”
Nepal: Madheshi vs. Madhise
The politics of terminology and the other way round explained at Madhesh Blog. “From historical point of view, the identity “Madheshi” connects people living in Madhesh with their thousands years of history of living in Madhesh, whereas identity “Nepali” refers to their 200 years of history since the conquest of...
Lebanon: Anti-Syria Sentiments ‘Real’
Lebanese blogger Mustafa says although a rally in Beirut yesterday was tarnished by useless gimmicks, it showed that the anti-Syrian majority ‘is definitely not “fictional”.’
