Stories from 21 October 2009
USA: Interracial couple denied marriage license
Last week, in Hammond, Louisiana, a couple applied for a marriage license and were refused on the basis of their different races. The justice of the peace claimed that "interracial marriages do not last long" and stated that he was "doing it for the children."
Guinea: In the aftermath of a massacre
Amid widespread international condemnation of Guinea's military regime, the United Nations announced Friday it would launch a formal investigation into the September 28th massacre of opposition protestors in Conakry. Meanwhile, Guinean netizens continue trying to process and assess the meaning of the tragedy.
China: Girl protester lifted away
ESWN translated a story about a girl protester being lifted away by police officers on the national day in Shanghai when she showed a banner telling the story of forced demolition that cost her mother's life.
Malaysia: State government introduces ‘1Toilet’ policy
Borrowing the branding of 1Malaysia, the state government of Terengganu recently introduces the ‘1Toilet' policy as a move for both teachers and students to share toilets to promote a sense of oneness. There were mixed reactions from the blogosphere regarding this topic
Indonesia: The President's second term
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia took his oath marking his second term as head of state of the world's most populous Muslim country. Bloggers, twitterers, and plurkers share their reactions to this event
China: The Power of Symbolic Appropriation in Chinese Cyberspace
The China beat has posted an adapted article of Guobin Yang's recent talk at a conference on New Media and Global Transformations early this month. The talk was about Chinese netizens’ appropriation of an online anonymous post “Jia Junpeng, your mother wants you to go home to eat”.
China and U.S: Oba Mao
A new icon combining Chairman Mao Zedong and U.S President Obama is on the rise in China. Check this out: Serving the people T-shirt and Oba Mao bag.
Russia: More on the Recent Election
A discussion of last Sunday's local elections in Russia – at Sean's Russia Blog.
Ukraine: Child Rape and Politics
Ukrainiana reports on a controversial child molestation case, the details of which were leaked right before the official start of the presidential election campaign: “How much of this accounts for a smear campaign and how much portrays a shocking case of sexual child abuse remains to be seen.”
