Stories from 12 June 2008
Poland: Passport Photos
Polandian comments on the bureaucratic instructions on “how not to take a Polish passport photo.”
Georgia: Post-Election Survey
Social Science in the Caucasus comments on a telephone survey of voters following the May parliamentary election in the country. The blog casts doubts on the reliability of the poll and the effectiveness of telephone surveys in general.
Serbia: Belgrade's Stray Dogs
Café Turco writes about “the lovely stray dogs that live in the garden near Saint Sava Temple” in Belgrade.
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Landmine Deaths
YakimaGulagLiteraryGazett writes about landmine deaths in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Montenegro: Photos
Photos from Montenegro – at Novala, Europa.
Spain, Kosovo: “What Is There To Be Afraid Of?”
Café Turco notes that “some signs are starting to appear that Madrid may soon recognize Kosova as an Independent state.”
The Balkans: Euro 2008
Balkan Baby writes about the “Balkan interests” in the Euro 2008 championship.
Romania: Politicians’ Blogs
Kosmopolit writes about Romanian politicians’ blogs.
Brazil: Judges can't tell YouTube from U2
The Brazilian Superior Electoral Court held yesterday a session to conclude the resolution regulating the use of the Internet in the 2008 local elections campaign later this year. According to Judge George Marmelstein, who watched the session in person, "Youtube was turned into U2" by the ill-informed judges in charge.
Iran:Arrest of Eight Women’s Rights Activists
In We-Change we read that eight women’s rights activists were arrested today, on the anniversary of the national day of solidarity of Iranian women (22nd of Khordaad, June 12).
Iran:Ahmdinejad blogs again
Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wrote[fa] in his blog that he is faithful to Ayatollah Khomenie‘s ideology and his government tries to change economic institutions but there are some political obstacles on its way.
Iran: Victory for students
Azarmehr reports that all the demands made by the Teacher Training Students were met by the university administration after the students at this college went on hunger strike for 11 days. 120 students had taken part in the hunger strike.
Japan: Hair Pin Art
Ryoko from Pingmag writes an interview feature on the renovation of traditional silk craft into modern hair pin design.
Japan: Work Culture
Harvey from Japan newbie discusses about work culture and the phenomena of “death by overwork” in Japan.
China: Best Seller
Ruan Yifeng summarizes a local magazine's special feature on the culture of reading in China, with some statistic information on best selling books [zh].
Zimbabwe: MDC General Secretary arrested
Crackdown on the opposition in Zimbabwe: “MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti has just been arrested at Harare International Airport upon arrival”: this is a short press release just received via email. We don’t have any more information than this at the moment, but as soon as we do we’ll let...
Costa Rica: Capital City Top 10 Safest
The Costa Rican capital San José placed among the top 10 safest cities in Latin America writes La Foto Salió Movida [es] and writes that the challenge is to continue improving safety and remove the stigma that the city is more dangerous that it is.
Bahamas: Somewhere Over The Rainbow
“The conversation about the rights of gays and lesbians in this country is stuck in a Christian fundamentalist scriptural war that cannot see gays and lesbians, bisexuals or transgender people as integral to the wide spectrum of human existence”: The Gaulin Wife writes a stirring tribute to slain AIDS activist...
Cuba: Paying for Performance
Uncommon Sense and Child of the Revolution report on “a new rule that will allow Cubans to earn according (to) their labor”.
Bermuda: Good Governance
“It’s shocking to know that, not only are major decisions being made in Cabinet without public consultation or debate, but some Ministers are even defying the agreed decisions of Cabinet!”: Vexed Bermoothes is concerned about proper governance in Bermuda.
Jamaica: Living with HIV
Geoffrey Philp highlights the reporting of poet Kwame Dawes, who has been examining the HIV/AIDS crisis in Jamaica, while DigiActive says that “the Jamaican government went as far as preventing its country’s leading gay rights group from even attending the (UN AIDS) New York meeting”.
