3 November 2008

Stories from 3 November 2008

Russia: Social Benefits and Bureaucracy

The previous GV translation from Russia dealt with how a few committed St. Petersburg bloggers have partially succeeded in relieving the bureaucratic torture that the local elderly people with disabilities were subjected to by the state authorities. By way of a follow-up, here is a story of another bureaucratic ordeal, shared by LJ user smitrich (Moscow-based journalist Dmitry Sokolov-Mitrich).

3 November 2008

Morocco: Viewing the U.S. Elections

On the eve of the U.S. elections, the world is atwitter - and Morocco is no exception. Bloggers based in Morocco - both Moroccan natives and foreign residents - are musing over potential election outcomes. While Morocco is also no exception to the world's preference for Obama, bloggers have a lot more to say than "Yes we can!" Jillian C. York gives us a glimpse into this North African nation.

3 November 2008

Nagorno Karabakh: Armenian Bloggers on Moscow Declaration

Following Sunday's meeting between Russian President Dimitry Medvedev and his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts, the upbeat tone of the mainstream international media in reporting a declaration on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict signed by the three has not been echoed by Armenian bloggers. Indeed, if anything, most appear to consider the declaration, which reiterates existing verbal agreements between Armenia and Azerbaijan since the 1994 ceasefire, to be simply for show.

3 November 2008

Guyana: Remembering David de Caires

David de Caires, founder and editor of the Stabroek News and tireless advocate for press freedom in Guyana, has died at the age of 70. Bloggers from Guyana and elsewhere in the Caribbean pay tribute to one of the most admired figures in the regional media.

3 November 2008

Morocco: French Weekly Banned

A Moro in America reports that L'Express International, a popular French weekly magazine, has been banned in Morocco following alleged “blasphemy against Islam's prophet.”

3 November 2008

Dominica: Creole Dress

“The Wob Dwiyet is the centerpiece of Dominica’s National Wear and is worn in a variety of different styles”: Dominica Weekly posts some photos of the island's Creole Dress Parade.

3 November 2008

Trinidad & Tobago: All Souls Day

“Lapeyrouse Cemetery has fallen into disrepair over the last half a century; a severe indictment on a society that allows its dead to languish in squalour. But on this afternoon...

3 November 2008

Cuba: Abortions

Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez meets a young woman who has had four abortions in her twenty-three years: “I was rattled by her illusion of leaving all her problems—housing, love or...

3 November 2008