Stories from 3 December 2009
Dominican Republic: Factory in Los Haitises to be Relocated
Complying with a briefing by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and with the demands of public protests of the Dominican community, the cement factory that was planned to be built in the protected area of Los Haitises National Park will be relocated.
Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia: Visa-Free Travel
Belgraded reports that, beginning Dec. 19, “there will be no more visa requirement for Serbian, Montenegrin and Macedonian citizens if they want to travel to the Schengen territory” – debunks “some visa-free travel myths.” Jana Orsolic thinks “it's too good to be truth” and shares some of her feelings: “…there's...
Philippines: Social Media puts spotlight on the Maguindanao Massacre
More than 60 people, including journalists and lawyers, were brutally murdered in Maguindanao Province in the Philippines. Bloggers and netizens were quick to express their reactions through the various social networking sites.
Ukraine: Arts Updates
A few last month's updates at IZO: artist and writer Vagrich Bakhchanyan dies in NYC; Ukrainian artist Aleksandr Gnilitsky dies in Kyiv; a Ukrainian Euro-2012 icon.
Thailand: Failed state?
Thai Intelligent News reviews the indicators of a failed state and concludes that Thailand is close to being a failed state.
Indonesia bans film on Balibo Five
A film about the Balibo Five was banned by Indonesian authorities. Balibo Five refers to Australia-based journalists who were allegedly murdered by Indonesian soldiers in East Timor in 1975.
Russia: Microsoft Loses $1 Billion to Pirates
Profy cites a report by the Russian division of Microsoft, which claims that the company has lost $1 billion to Russian pirates, but has earned the same amount from legal sales.
CEE: “Social Media and Social Memory”
Evgeny Morozov writes about “social media and social memory” – and a Facebook project involving a 22-year-old Lublin resident posing as a 7-year-old Jewish boy who was killed by the Nazis during WWII. Vaviblog (ENG) is a similar project, which “gives voice” to Russian scientist Nikolai Vavilov: “…if Vavilov were...
Mexico: Learning and yearning in Spanish and English
Lesley from The Mija Chronicles writes in English about her difficulty to learn Spanish in her first 10 months living in Mexico. Conversely, Jennívora questions her yearning of Mexican rituals and festivities after living in Scotland [es] exercising her particular Spanish-pocho [es] writing style.
Russia: Law Enforcement and Crime
Robert Amsterdam's reports on the pre-trial detention center death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky last month – here and here; also, a note on the murder of Ivan Khutorskoy, an anti-fascist activist. Oleg Kozlovsky – on a murder committed by drunk police officers in Moscow.
