Stories from 5 February 2008
USA: Voices Without Votes
There are few subjects that spark the imagination of bloggers worldwide - and United States foreign policy is one of them. Today, Global Voices is launching a new website with Reuters that opens a window on the global conversation about the 2008 presidential election in the USA. It's called Voices Without Votes.
Hong Kong: Super Prison
The head of Hong Kong police force Tang King-sing claimed that those who possessed class III obscene articles may violate existing law. Duimanpark points out that if the police were to arrest those who had copies of class III obscene photos in their computers, the city need to build a...
Dominica: Carnival Photos
Steve's Dominica and Dominica Weekly post photos of the island's Carnival Monday celebrations.
Poland: Trade Unions and Homophobia
Trade union Solidarity “has called for the striking from the work regulations of a clause calling for tolerance,” Our Man in Gdansk reports.
Jamaica, Dominican Republic: Oscar Wao
Jamaican Marlon James so loved reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao that he says: “Junot Diaz should hire me as his publicist.”
Poland: GM Foods
The beatroot writes about Poland's stance on GM foods.
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Lack of Evidence
Abeni feels “like a psychic” as the Director of Public Prosecutions in St. Vincent & the Grenadines rules that there is no evidence to support the accusation of rape against the Prime Minister.
Nigeria: Celtel Nigeria: Error connecting
Yomi is not impressed with Celtel's GPRS billing service in Nigeria: “As far back as I can remember, the GSM network now called Celtel Nigeria has always had a problem with its billing platform for GPRS. The platform has been so unreliable that at times for months subscribers browse free....
China: Illegal to View Pornography?
In responding to the popstar sex scandal, Liu Xiaoyuan pointed out that in mainland China, according to the Police regulation on Internet in announced in 1997, viewing pornography can be illegal in China (zh). The blogger stated that morality issue can't be handed by the state and shouldn't be punished.
Trinidad & Tobago: The Farce of Consultation
Shivonne Du Barry attends a public consultation and gains “some insight into what many have long suspected is the sham of consultation. It is known that Trinis are never sustained in their efforts so there is no real danger of having to actually take their concerns into consideration.”
Antigua & Barbuda: 2020 Cricket
Dumani, a ten-year-old Antiguan boy, is live blogging the Stanford 20/20 Cricket Tournament in Antigua.
Poland, Russia: Katyn Massacre at Wikipedia
Over at the beatroot, a discussion of the constantly changing first sentence of the Wikipedia article on the Katyn massacre.
U.S.: Presidential Candidates on Putin and Russia
Siberian Light examines “what each of the remaining US presidential candidates has to say about Russia and about our hero Vladimir Putin, the mighty President they all hope one day to emulate…”
Russia: Preparations For May 9 Parade
Robert Amsterdam writes about a media report on the preparations for the May 9 military parade in Moscow.
Russia: DPNI Newswire
Moscow Through Brown Eyes translates typical headlines from the newswire of the Movement Against Illegal Immigration (DPNI) and notes: “Another thing about this kind of craziness is that it really isn’t worth dissecting, analyzing, arguing with, or linking. But it’s also a little dangerous to ignore it.”
Hong Kong: Greatest Scandal
Kenneth from Shanghaiist has summarized the greatest sex scandal in Hong Kong concerning various popstars. Interlocals.net has an article on the political debates and implications of police crack down of the internet information.
Hong Kong and China: How About Other Reporters in Jail?
Hong Kong Journalist Ching Cheong has been released by Chinese government. Wang Ning asked: how about other reporters and human rights activists, such as Lu Jianhua, Hu Jia, and Guo Feixiong?(zh) The blogger said, if China wants to have a grand Olympic, the government should release all of them.
Mozambique: Tension situation over public transport fares increase
Carlos Serra [pt] reports on a popular protest against the rise in public transport fares in Maputo, Mozambique, which has ended up in gross violence. He has been constantly bringing news the post, the last one of his updates says: “In the Choupal neighbourhood trees were cut down and graves...
Brazil: Impressions on Rio Carnival
Rachel Glickhouse elects Carnival in Rio one of the 1000 things you should do before you die. “Never in my 23 years of existence have I seen anything like it, and never have I experienced so much pure, unmitigated joy.” Check out the whole post, her photos and videos.
Israel: One Wall Down, a New Reality in the Middle East
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians poured into the Egyptian side of Rafah as the wall on the Egypt-Gaza border was brought down by Hamas over a week ago. Egyptian attempts to revert the situation to its previous state where they hold little or no responsibilities, have failed. Many bloggers have been writing about this new reality in the Middle East, having immense implications on both Egyptian politics and Israeli security.
Zambia: 2008 National Budget
New Zambia writes about the 2008 Zambia National Budget: “The Finance Minister, Mr Magande delivered the 2008 National Budget on Friday, apparently under emergence power from a generator. complacency to embrace the collective vision of his or her society.”