Stories from 21 March 2010
Translator of the week: Audrey Lambert and her students in France
A faithful volunteer translator for Global Voices in French since 2008, Audrey Lambert is also a pioneer of using Global Voices in the classroom at the Lycée Ozenne in Toulouse, France.
E.U.: Debate Over the Euro
Is the euro dead or dying? economist and blogger Dominique Thiébaut asks [Fr] on his blog, Changes et Matières Premières. He weighs the odds a “sarkofranc” or “markel” might succeed the European currency, currently at the mercy of some members countries’ financial straits as well as international speculators.
Haiti: Mourning relatives and coping with legal ordeals
Haitian blogger Espas Aysien writes a post [Fr] focusing on the difficulty for Haitians to mourn the death of hundreds of thousands relatives in Port-au-Prince and neighboring cities.
Haiti: Reconstruction for Haitians or with Haitians
Haitian Alterpresse republishes a letter [Creole] from Haitian social organisations which openly criticise the Donor's Conference which took place in the Dominican Republic on March 17th. According to them, it will not lead to a long-term development project nor include the population in the reconstruction scheme. Here is the French...
Best of Blogs Awards: Don't forget to vote!
The international Best of Blogs Awards, organized by Deutsche Welle, have entered the final voting phase. You may now vote online until April 14, 2010, for your favorite blog(s) in eleven languages and various categories, including freedom of expression and climate change.
Serbia: Architectural feats from a world exhibition
Nothing against Serbia writes about the Serbian pavilion at the 1900 Paris world exhibition and posts pictures to illustrate it.
Russia: Prisoners Spend Their Time on Social Networks
Internet and social networks help Russian prisoners spend their time in prison, says an article at chaskor.ru. Convicts use mobile Internet to access dating sites, search information, and even post their own videos shot on cell phones.
New requirements for Russian E-Gov Sites.
The Russian Ministry for Economical Development published a list of requirements for governmental Web sites that provide online services, reports lenta.ru. All the documents on the sites should be accessed without any pre-registration and additional software requirements and content on the sites should be reached with no more than 5...
Russia: Prosecuted Blogger Receives Journalist Award
Mikhail Afanasyev (aka LJ user rukhakasia), blogger from Abakan, Eastern Siberia, received a Journalist Union Award “For Professional Achievement” for a series of articles about the accident at Sayano-Shushenskaya dam, Echo Moskvy reported. The articles led to a criminal case initiated against Afanasyev, which was closed later due to lack...
Russia: Activists Burns Effigy of Policeman
Activists of the movement “Autonomous Action” burnt an effigy a policeman during the “political Maslenitsa“, indymedia reports (photos and footage available). The action was dedicated to Seva Ostapov, a young man violently beaten by policemen and later accused of assaulting them.
Russia: Bank Employee Spoils Credit History for $0.26
Blogger logra published the recording of her conversation with a Russian bank employee who called her and in a strikingly impolite manner said he would spoil her credit history for the debt of 26 cents on her account. Logra's post gathered almost 3500 comments, seriously undermining the reputation of the...
Russia: Actor Calls Against Cooperation with Government
Russian actor Aleksey Devotchenko wrote a desperate post about what professional actors can do to express their protest against current political regime. Among the measures proposed are: not to stage in ‘patriotic’ movies, not to participate in concerts organized by police or FSB and so on.
Russia: Alpinist Destroys Cars And Blogs About It
Karpovka.ru writes about blogger drunn2007 who works as an industrial alpinist climbing up house walls and breaking excessive ice. On his blog, drunn2007 posts photos of cars damaged by fallen ice adding quite cynical comments.
Russia: Protests in 48 Cities Mark “Day of Anger”
Bloggers post photos of mass protests dedicated to the “Day of Anger” held on March 20, 2010. Protests in 48 cities gathered around 20,000 people. Here are the links to pictures and videos from Moscow, Kaliningrad, Vladivostok, Novosibirsk and Irkutsk.
South Africa: Remembering Sharpeville Massacre
South Africans remember the Sharpeville Massacre on 21 March 1960 as a turning point in the history of political resistance against racial discrimination. Sixty-nine people were killed in the township of Sharpeville when South African police opened fire on a crowd of black protesters.
Dubai: Iranian Blogger Omid Reza Mirsayafi Remembered
About 40 young people from all four corners of the world came together in a cafe in Dubai and remembered the first anniversary of the death of Iranian Omid Reza Mirsayafi, the first blogger to die in prison. The meeting also reflected on the March 18 Movement, OR318, via art.
Morocco: Tramway Line Reopens in Rabat
Mounir Bensaleh, who blogs on Des maux à dire [Fr], publishes pictures of the reopening of the Tramway line [Fr] in the Moroccan capital Rabat, which was abandoned 60 years ago.
Russia: Putin pros and cons go cyber
LJ user Anton Igorevich reports [RUS] that recent demonstrations against and for Russian Premier, Vladimir Putin, now have gone cyber, with websites against and in support of Putin, the latter being hacked, presumably by anti-Putinists.
Russia-UK: British troops return to Red Square
Siberian Light questions the recent reports that British troops are to march on Moscow's Red Square for the first time ever on the 9 May Victory Day Parade, illustrating previous visits with pictures and videos.
Russia-US: A Derogatory Dilemma
Streetwise Professor reflects upon US Secretary of State's, Hillary Clinton, visit to Moscow and reacts against her not responding to insults from Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, fearing this will become a pattern in US-Russian relations.
Azerbaijan: Reflections on Novruz
This weekend marked the official start of Novruz, the Zoroastrian holiday marking the beginning of spring. Bloggers comment on the festival.
