Stories about Feature from August, 2007
Morocco: The Upcoming Elections
With the Moroccan legislative elections looming on September 7, Moroccan bloggers share their concerns about the process and its progress.
Chinese cartoon cops patrolling websites
From September, 1st, Beijing’s new virtual cops will be active on 13 of China’s portals, including China’s biggest blog-hosting services, Sohu.com and Sina.com. By the end of the year, the virtual police’s patrols are expected to cover all websites registered with Beijing servers.
South Africa's Health Minister Under Fire
The South African Blogosphere has been abuzz with allegations against the South Africa's Health Minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, of alcoholism during, her conviction for theft and using undue influence in order to get herself a liver transplant. Various bloggers have aired their opinions of the matter as well as jokes and cartoons.
Peru: An Opportunity for the Country
In the aftermath of the earthquake in Peru, some bloggers have continued to wonder who is to blame for the disappearance in aid and the sensationalist nature of the coverage. However, others are looking at the disaster as an opportunity for Peruvians to look critically at themselves and at their elected officials in order to make real reforms so that this does not happen again.
Greece: On Fire
We've probably all heard it in the news by now: Greece is ablaze. Today the fires reached the ancient city of Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympics and home of...
GV Advocacy: Toward a Global anti-censorship Network
During the last six months, since the launch of Global Voices Advocacy, we have been trying to cover the increasingly serious threats to online speech occurring around the globe and the efforts to combat them. We’ve documented the arrest and detention of scores of bloggers and online authors and highlighted several anti-censorship campaigns, reports of Internet censorship, blocked blogs and websites.
China: Bringing blogging to the countryside
Three years ago this man shot to fame when he blogged a bloody murder that took place in broad daylight downtown Beijing and the botched police handling of the case. Now a veteran of the citizen reporter game, he's taking his blog on the road, to rural northern China.
Russia: An “Oasis of Nonchalance”
August 19 marked sixteen years since the beginning of the Soviet Union's collapse. On this day, LJ user galerist (Marat Guelman, gallery owner from Moscow) happened to post a sketch on his visit to a rich client's estate - a sketch that, in a way, highlighted some of the changes that have - and have not - occurred since 1991.
Jamaica: Election postponed — till when?
In the aftermath of Hurricane Dean, confusion reigns over the postponement of the Jamaican general election originally scheduled for 27 August.
Lebanon: Upcoming Presidential Elections
The Lebanese constitution stipulates that the parliament should convene and elect a new president within a period of at least a month before the end of the tenure of the...
Bangladesh: under curfew
Civil unrest began in Bangladesh on the 20th of August when a petty dispute broke out concerning comments passed by armed forces personnel during a soccer match at a university...
Russia: Blogger on Trial for Writing Fiction
Blogger Dmitry Shirinkin faces trial for having written on his blog that he had purchased a gun and was going to kill a few dozen people in one of the city’s colleges. According to Shirinkin, the text - posted on April 21, but made private on April 22 - was a work of fiction, "inspired" by the Virginia Tech shooting. According to the prosecutor's office, however, Shirinkin has violated Article 207 of the Russian Criminal Code by "distributing false information on a planned terrorist act." The trial is likely to take place in September; if convicted, the Russian blogger may receive a three-year prison sentence.
Kuwait: Jailed Blogger Released
Following a local and regional outcry, jailed Kuwaiti blogger Bashar Al-Sayegh was released in Kuwait earlier today. While some bloggers celebrated the release, others warned that it could be a...
Turkey: wordpress.com ban inspires firestorm of criticism
Matthew Mullenweg, founding developer of the popular WordPress blogging platform, has received a letter from the lawyers acting on behalf of a Turkish Islamic-creationist, Adnan Oktar, aka Harun Yahya, claiming to be responsible for the blanket ban on blogs hosted on the wordpress.com blogging platform in Turkey. On August 17th, 2007, the Turkish Fatih Second Civil Court of First Instance blocked access to all wordpress.com blogs in response to a suit filed by Adnan Oktar’s lawyers on the grounds that blogs hosted on the platform published allegedly defamatory and “unlawful” statements about their client.
African writers criticize Sarkozy in open letter
Jean-Luc Raharimanana, a Malagasy writer famous for his influential works on French colonialism, recently authored an open letter to French president Nicolas Sarkozy in response to the now infamous message...
Kuwait: Blogger Bashar Al-Sayegh Arrested
Kuwait yesterday joined the ranks of countries with jailed bloggers, following the arrest of Bashar Al-Sayegh. How did bloggers in Kuwait and around the region react? Here's a quick review.
Palestine: Boycotting Israel, Excluding Handala and More
This week in the Palestinian blogosphere, bloggers tackled serious issues such as the academical boycott of Israel, checkpoints and Edward Said’s mural in San Francisco as well as lighter topics such as a Palestinian swimmer participating in a regional competition in Beit Sahour and other personal stories.
Peru: Post-Quake Chaos
The recent devasting earthquake that struck Peru brought out a wave of activity among Peruvian bloggers. Some wrote and documented what they felt when the seismic activity struck, whie others sought to inform fellow Peruvians protecting them from false information. However, many more responded by calling for solidarity through information campaigns regarding ways to help. Now that several days have passed, these same bloggers reflect upon the government response and some of the worrisome occurrences in their country.
Vietnam: Web Censorship
When I began considering posting on Global Voices from Vietnam, the first thought that came to mind was what exactly was I allowed to post? What topics could I cover,...
Peru: Online Earthquake Coverage
When disaster hits, many look to television or radio to get their news. However, in Peru, many look to the internet to find out the latest information. Within minutes, the disaster appeared on Wikipedia. Bloggers also provided stories about where they were, when the quake struck and others try to set the record straight regarding misinformation read online.
Kazakhstan: Crisis and Elections
The upcoming parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan are a foregone conclusion and the hitherto booming banking sector is on the verge of sliding into a deep crisis. This and more in this week's blogosphere update.
