Stories from 17 March 2010
Jordan: Third “Blog About Jordan” Day a Success
Jordanian bloggers marked the third Blog About Jordan day on March 12th. As was the case in previous years, the cyber event was organized by U.S.-based Jordanian blogger Qwaider. Ebtihal Mahadeen reviews reactions in this post.
Saudi Arabia: 1,000 lashes for YouTube video
A Saudi man has been charged for morality crimes after a video appeared on YouTube where he is dressed in police uniform, dancing and flirting with the male cameraman. He has been sentenced to 1,000 lashes, a 5,000 rial ($1,333) fine and a year in prison. Katharine Ganly takes a look at some blogger reactions.
Moldova: Constitution and immunity
Zimbru of Morning in Moldova argues against parliamentary immunity as part of a new Moldovan constitution.
Russia: Results of regional elections
Gabriela Ionita of Power&Politics World analyses the results on Russia's recent regional elections and its effects on the country's politics.
Russia: Blogger Criticizes National Post Service
Blogger cyxoupshk published a video (RU with English subs) address criticizing Russian post service. The video is provoked by increasingly bad quality of service as well as recent DHL's shipping suspension.
Macedonia: International Women's Day in the Blogosphere
International Women's Day is not an official public holiday in Macedonia, but is widely observed through interpersonal interactions and at some workplaces. This year, a number of bloggers used the occasion to draw attention to gender issues or to find creative ways to congratulate women online.
Trinidad & Tobago: Anti-Everything
KnowTnT.com‘s Edmund Gall asks himself, “Are we Trinis more likely to be *against* something than *for* the opposite?”
Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados: The Order of Things
Barbados-based B.C. Pires posts some observations about the Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister's statements “that a war is on between the PNM government and some elements of the construction sector”: “No matter which way you look at it, everyone in these small islands is firetrucked.”
Colombia: Results from March 14 Elections
On Sunday March 14, Colombians went to the polls to elect legislative representatives. It was also viewed as a barometer of what could happen in the May 30 presidential elections.
Bahamas: Natural Energy?
Bahama Pundit‘s Larry Smith wonders whether natural gas can solve the country's power problem.
Trinidad & Tobago: Untouchable?
Trinidadian bloggers discuss the Prime Minister's behaviour during a recent “walkabout”.
Bermuda: Coming to Term
Bermudian bloggers comment on term limits. Politics.bm: “The requirement to prove Bermuda status for entry is draconian and unnecessary…”; Vexed Bermoothes: “I believe that term limits are very dangerous, particularly combined with all the other mixed messages sent by this Government towards international business.”
Iranian women's rights website wins RSF online freedom award
Reporters without Borders and Google have awarded Iranian women's rights website We-change with a "Netizen Prize" for their work in defense of freedom of expression.
China: Various aspects of censorship
March 12 was the World Day Against Cyber Censorship and Reporters Without Borders announced its latest list of "Enemies of the Internet," which points a finger at China, among other authoritarian states.
Sri Lanka: Theaters In Colombo
Indi.ca writes about the adult film theaters in Colombo and how women are portrayed in the film posters.
Pakistan: Terror And The Blame Game
Kalsoom at CHUP! – Changing Up Pakistan criticizes the blame game of Pakistan's leaders and comments: “the stream of bombings and the subsequent deaths of innocent civilians will continue to undermine Pakistan’s tactical successes against the Taliban.”
India: Mumbai Traffic
Entrepreneur and blogger Rajesh Jain comments on the traffic in Mumbai: “from my own experience, average traffic speed has probably halved in the past decade.”
China: College students’ employment problem
PH from veggie discourse translated a local news story from Netease about how 5 college students beat out 395 Others to become feces diggers.
Ecuador: The Yasuni-ITT Initiative
In 2007, the Ecuadorian government unveiled the Yasuni-ITT Initiative, which would call for the oil reserves found in the Yasuni National Park to remain underground in exchange for compensation from the international community.
Uganda: Students riot, Kampala burns
Two separate tragedies struck Kampala, the capital of Uganda, on Tuesday: students at Makerere University rioted after the shooting death of two of their peers. And the Kasubi Tombs, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the burial location of the king of one of Uganda's largest ethnic groups, burned to the ground.
Ukraine: Book-Burning and Book-Recycling Rallies
Steve Bandera of Kyiv Scoop writes about a book-burning rally in Crimea – and a book-recycling rally in Lviv. The latter was in protest to the appointment of Ukraine's new minister of education and science, and LEvko of Foreign Notes has more on it.
