24 November 2008

Stories from 24 November 2008

Pakistan: ISI closes political wing

  24 November 2008

Deadpan Thoughts reports that the political wing of Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI ceased its operation after three decades of spying on politicians and fixing political deals.

Japan: Bloggers debate prohibition of cannabis

  24 November 2008

Starting with the case of two sumo wrestlers who tested positive for marijuana at the beginning of September and continuing with the announcement last week by Waseda University that three students were arrested over suspicions of growing cannabis, scandals related to the use of cannabis have topped the headlines in the media over the last few weeks in Japan.

Latvia: Freedom of speech in peril?

  24 November 2008

Latvian bloggers react to the security police incarceration of two citizens for publicly criticising the government financial policies. Free Speech Emergency in Latvia covers the story, and Marginalia provides links and comment.

Chile: Returning Historical Documents to Peru

  24 November 2008

The Chilean government recently returned some historical documents that had belonged to Peru. The act was facilitated by the Chilean Office of Libraries, Archives and Museums of which Enzo Abbagliati of Cadaunadas [es] is a part and of which he is proud to be associated.

US: Mosque and Synagogue Twinning Week

  24 November 2008

Richard Silverstein, a Jewish blogger in the US, writes about how 40 mosques and synagogues in the US conducted a joint programme on Islamophobia and anti-Semitism this weekend. “The goal of this national project sponsored by the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding is to combat ethnic tension between Muslims and Jews,”...

Israel: Straw and Mud Mosque to be Demolished

  24 November 2008

International and local activists spent the night waiting for demolition crew to come and destroy a new straw and mud mosque built in an unrecognised village of Wadi el-Naam, Israel. One blogger gives us a detailed account of what happened on the eventful night while another wonders what the reaction would be had it been a synagogue that was being threatened.