Stories from 8 July 2009
Azerbaijan: Youth activists and bloggers beaten and detained
Emin Milli, one of the founders of AN Network, a grassroots youth movement and Adnan Hadji-zadeh, a videoblogger from OL! Youth Movement have been severely beaten by unidentified persons while dining with a group of other civil society and youth activists in a restaurant in downtown Baku.
Dominican Republic: The 2nd Happiest Country in the World?
The recent news that the Dominican Republic is the 2nd happiest country in the world has “caused hilarity and even skepticism” and Rocío Díaz of Monaco [es] takes a look whether that is really true.
Ukraine: Peculiar pornography prohibition
Natalia Antonova ridicules new Ukrainian legislation outlawing pornography without defining its meaning, and exempting possession for medical purposes.
Lithuania: Quiz pro quo
Lapelis draws attention to [GER] a quiz on Lithuania's 1,000 year history, by the country's Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and in response makes his own – more critical – quiz on the same theme.
Mexico: Voters Share Their Null Ballots on Twitter
Mexicans tweeted their discontent with the political system of the country by sharing photographs of their paper ballots nullified in creative ways during the July 5 mid-term elections.
Blogger of the Week: Gabriela García-Calderón
Gabriela García Calderón may be the star translator of Global Voices in Spanish. She translates on a daily basis for our publications, and as if that weren't enough, she still has time for writing in her personal blog, Seis de enero (January 6th). Juan Arellano met with Gabriela for an interview - here are the results.
Czech Republic-Canada: Reintroducing a visa regime?
CzechFolks.com reports that Canada is considering reimposing visa requirements for Czech citizens, following a surge in the number of Czech refugee seekers to Canada over the last year.
Dominica, U.S.A.: Learning from the “King of Pop”
“President Barack Obama did prove that content of character transcends race. In Michael Jackson’s case it was star power”: Dominica Weekly thinks there are lessons to be learned from Jackson's life.
Trinidad & Tobago, U.S.A.: Michael Memorial
Trinidadian blogger Tattoo lists his “Top Five Michael Jackson Funeral Moments”, while Coffeewallah was touched by “Paris Katherine talking about her daddy being the best in the world and the love he had for them.”
Slovenia: Government online – by mistake
Sleeping with Pengovsky tells about a recent incident where a cabinet meeting of the Slovenian government was broadcast by mistake, which has caused extensive debate in the country.
Barbados: Making Sugar Cane King
“No one with the authority seems to want to make a definitive decision as to how to progress the sugar cane industry”: Barbados Underground is convinced that “the value is no longer in the sugar but now in the sugar cane” – especially bio fuels and bio plastics.
Lithuania: Citizenship bill under fire
Lituanica recounts the ongoing debate over citizenship legislation in Lithuania, as a new bill is proposed, and how emigré Lithuanians protest against the proposal to ban dual citizenship, effectively berieving them their nationality.
Guyana: The CARICOM Circus
Guyana-Gyal says that CARICOM is “just a free lunch”.
Latvia: The one-way street of economic crisis
Nouvelle Europe discusses [FR] the economic crisis in Latvia, with widespread wage cuts and imminent collapse of the financial sector, indicating no apparent way out of the crisis in the foreseeable future.
Russia: Lines open for telephone justice
Bill Bowring at openDemocracy writes about legal nihilism in Russia and the reintroduction of the soviet tradition of telephone justice.
Pakistan: The Cave Dwellings of Gondrani
Owais Mughal at All Things Pakistan writes about the cave dwellings of Gondrani, situated in Balochistan province of Pakistan.
Russia-Japan: Renewed row over the Kuril Islands
LJ user rover seti reacts against [RUS] a resolution of Japan's parliamentary House of Councillors, declaring the Kuril Islands, occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, Japanese territory “since ancient times.”
India: Racism In Retrospect
Instant Gyaan comments: “when Indians talk about racism, they are being the biggest hypocrites in the universe. What right do we have to complain about racial discrimination when we practice it more efficiently than anyone else.”
China and North Korea: Kim is like Chairman Mao?
On 4 July, the United States’ National Day, North Korea has launched seven missiles tests again and some of them were medium-range rockets that pose threat to Japan and South Korea. While Kim Jong Il has been portrayed as a crazy and authoritarian figure, Chinese netizens are eager to compare...
China: Omitting the Uyghur grievances
Will from imagethief pointed out that in order to solve the ethnic conflict, it is necessary for the Chinese government to reflect upon a national myth-making apparatus that allows no room whatsoever for the acknowledgment of Uighur grievances.
Bangladesh, India: Tipaimukh Dam And Farakka Barrage
Habib Siddiqui highlights the disastrous effect of the Farakka Barrage in India on Bangladesh and opines that if the Tipaimukh Dam is built for the hydroelectricity project, this will become another deathtrap like the Farakka Barrage.
