Stories about Protest from December, 2008
Palestine: Relief Boat Docks Safely in Gaza Port
Free Gaza announced that a relief boat carrying medical supplies landed safely in Gaza's port. Among its passengers were representatives of 15 different nations. The Palestinian Video Blog has live footage.
Northeast Asia: 2008 Review
The northeast Asia region is becoming more integrated politically, economically and socially. State leaders from China, Japan and South Korea recently signed a Joint Statement for Tripartite Partnership to address the serious challenges in the global economy and the financial markets. Peace talk between North and South Korea continues, while...
Ukraine: “A Democratic Question”
Ukrainiana writes about president Yushchenko's answer to the question that got over 85,000 online votes: “A straight question needs a straight answer. Instead, we got a rambling lecture, replete with peripheral thinking.”
Iran: Islamist bloggers support Gaza
Several Islamist bloggers have launched a campaign against the Gaza Strip blockade and to ask worldwide Muslims to help Palestinians. The bloggers have used different tools such as Google bombs and banners to spread the word.
Egyptian and Tunisian Bloggers against Censorship
In December 2006 frustrated Tunisian bloggers launched the "Action Blank Post" initiative in defense of freedom of speech. Supporting bloggers from all over the world posted a blank on their blogs on the 25th of December, and now bloggers have united again in this anti-censorship tradition, as Marwa Rakha shows.
Americas: A Look Back at 2008
In 2008, the Latin American team from Global Voices helped add context and helped highlight voices of bloggers that wrote about the numerous news stories that took place across the region. From the election of an ex-bishop in Paraguay to the march against the FARC in Colombia, bloggers provided their thoughts on natural disasters, protests, strikes, and important events across the Americas.
Southeast Asia: Newsmakers of 2008
For Southeast Asia, 2008 was a year of terrible disasters, both natural and man-made. Rice consumption was reduced, milk products were contaminated with melamine, jobs were lost, bloggers were arrested, and homes were destroyed. But the situation is not hopeless.
Caucasus: 2008 Blog Review
Last year ended with a state of emergency declared in Georgia, but few could imagine that the events of 2008 would eclipse those of 2007. Three presidential elections, a war, and yet another state of emergency defined the South Caucasus this year, and bloggers were there to document events from...
Trinidad & Tobago, U.S.A.: Sock & Awe
Trinidadian blogger Attillah Springer is playing Sock and Awe, “the simply brilliant online game” in which more than 46 million people have pelted shoes at President Bush – but more importantly, she is “plotting ways to pelt intellectual shoes, coming up with ideas on how to bobolise those who would...
Barbados: Journalists Appear in Court
Barbados Free Press is keeping an eye on the case of the two arrested journalists, calling the open court hearing “a stunning victory by the dozens of local news media people who showed up to support”, while at the same time denouncing local mainstream media for not making an issue...
Russia: Patriarch; Yoshkar-Ola; Stalin's Legacy; Protests
A selection of recent posts from Window on Eurasia: a “Ukrainian” metropolitan who may or may not become Russia's next patriarch; Hungarians react to the Russian authorities’ suggestion to rename Yoshkar-Ola, the capital of Mari El, to Tsaryovokokshaysk, the city's pre-1917 name; some Russian history teachers’ efforts to educate students...
Caribbean: 2008 in Review
From natural disasters to lightning bolts of the athletic kind, 2008 was a busy one for the Caribbean blogosphere. Here are some of the highlights...
Iran: Muslim Bloggers site was hacked
We read [fa] in Iran based Muslim Bloggers site that it was hacked a few days ago while it had launched a campaign to support Gaza Strip people. It seems that several other conservative sites such as Shiayan recently were hacked in Iran.
Madagascar: Television station is forced to stop broadcasting
Following its broadcast of an exiled opponent, Madagascar television station VIVA has been ordered by the government to stop broadcasting. Bloggers debate the politics of the decision and its implications for free speech in Madagascar.
Ukraine: A Loud Protest
Ukrainiana writes about and posts video of a very loud protest in Kyiv: “On December 22, at noon, Kyivites honked their horns to protest against rampant government corruption and endless power struggles wrecking the Ukrainian Dream amid the country’s deepest economic crisis since the early ‘90s.”
Barbados: Journalists Arrested
The Barbadian blogosphere is an uproar following the arrest of two mainstream media journalists - a move that bloggers are interpreting as an assault on press freedom.
Armenia-Azerbaijan: Muntazer al-Zaidy Reaction
The Armenian Observer rounds up reaction to Muntazer al-Zaidy's attack on outgoing U.S. President George W. Bush in Iraq. Meanwhile, IN MUTATIONE FORTITUDO asks whether such an incident could have happened under Saddam Hussein.
China: Interview with Anti-CNN founder
Jenny Leung interviewed the founder of Anti-CNN.com, Qi Hanting. The interview is posted at China digital times.
Russia: Protest Update
Sean's Russia Blog writes about today's protests in Russia: “The barrage of mass protest fired in Russia’s far east ten days ago echoed with a whimper as opponents of the import car tax hike staged actions across Russia. Today’s protests lacked the manpower of the previous ones, and in Vladivostok,...
Russia: The Crisis and The Potential For Unrest
In mid-October, Global Voices published a roundup of Anglophone bloggers' views on the financial crisis in Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Serbia and Ukraine. Below is another installment on the effects and the likely consequences of the crisis in Russia.
Egypt: Gamal Eid detained and deported from Jordan
The Jordanian intelligence prevents Gamal Eid, the General Manager of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), from entering Jordan because of his criticism of freedom of expression in Jordan two years ago,The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, The Skeptic reports the details.
