Stories from 5 June 2010
Peru: A Year Since Bagua
June 5 marks a year of the Baguazo, the name given to the unfortunate events that took pace in Bagua where officially 34 people died, of which 23 were policemen; however, unofficial reports claim the number of deaths is greater, especially from the side of the civilian protesters. Here is an account of reactions and of some events planned to commemorate the first anniversary of the incidents.
Iraq: The Flotilla Attack – A Series of Double Standards
Iraqi bloggers, whose country has been at the receiving end of sanctions, terrorist attacks, tyranny, Al-Qaida extremists, and wars for a very long time, are having mixed reactions to Israel's attack on the Gaza-bound flotilla. Tarek Amr rounds up their opinions in this post.
Global: Rachel Corrie “Immortalized” With Ship's Mission
A humanitarian aid ship called the MV Rachel Corrie (named after a young American peace activist who was killed by a bulldozer Gaza in 2003) set sail for Gaza from Ireland carrying 11 passengers and 9 crew members from 5 countries, but was soon intercepted.
Israel: A mixed bag of reactions to the flotilla raid
The following post is an assortment of blog entries translated from Hebrew, all taken from the 'hot-topic' page dealing with the flotilla raid, on the Israeli blogging platform Israblog, writes Gilad Lotan.
Ukraine: Culture outreach not for Ukrainians?
Linda Norris of The Uncataloged Museum argues that interactive arts and culture workshops should also engage Ukrainians, although she feels that most of them react by “That is not for our people.”
Russia: Sochi 2014 occasion to recognise Circassian genocide
Sufian Zhemukhov at oD Russia argues that Russia should take the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics as an opportunity to recognize the alleged genocide of Circassians during the 1860s.
Global: Reactions to Twitter’s sinking #flotilla hashtag
The recent flotilla debacle may have started at sea but it was to the Twitosphere that many activists turned, filling it with condemnation of Israel. The power of Twitter as a mobilizing force and alternative platform for affecting change is not to be underestimated. But what would happen if Twitter started censoring, as many tweeting about the flotilla began to fear?
Russia: BP faces problems also in the East
Joshua Keating of Foreign Policy Passport draws attention to how the situation of British Petroleum and its partner TNK worsens again in the Russian market.
Russia: Terror in times of tranquility
LJ user nature nature writes about [RUS] three terror bombings shaking Moscow back in 1977 – an unprecedented phenomenon in Brezhnevite Soviet Union.
Belarus: Minsk puts customs agreement on hold
Belarus Digest analyzes why Minsk has stopped a long negotiated customs union between Belarus, Russia, and Kazakhstan.
Baltics: Any need for Baltic Sea cooperation
Litauen writes about [GER] the Council of the Baltic Sea states and how this organization is becoming increasingly superfluous as basis for Baltic Sea cooperation.
Russia: Border changes early soviet history
Otto's Random Thoughts tells about his chapter in an upcoming anthology on border changes in 20th century Europe.
Colombia: Parish Priest from Jongovito Bans Patron Saint Festivities
The news from the parish priest of Jongovito, from the city of San Juan de Pasto, banning the celebration of the festivities of San Pedro y San Pablo (which take place June 29) generated a quick reaction from the blogosphere of this Colombian city.
Pakistan: Reviewing Sex and the City 2
Blogger Kalsoom goes to watch Sex and the City 2 and comes away with the feeling that the film not only fails to engage the Arab/Muslim/Middle Eastern woman, but it also condescendingly labels them en masse as victims of an oppressive patriarchal society.
Russia: Media Company Calls to Close Country's Biggest Social Network.
Alexander Akopov, head of a media company “Amedia“, called [RUS] to close Russia's biggest social network “Vkontakte” for massive copyright violations describing it as “the main pirate of the country” and its users as “30 millions of criminals”. He offered to prosecute both the network and its users and demand 100 million...
India: Ladakh in pictures
Blogger and travel-writer Charukesi visited Ladakh recently and shares the highlights through pictures and stories of her on her travel blog, Itchy Feet.
Israel: Flotilla Videos Gone Viral
An Israeli video called "Flotilla Choir: We Con the World" has gone viral on Facebook in the last 24 hours. While it shows no compunction about the violence involved in the flotilla incident, it aggressively illustrates the widely held Israeli belief that Hamas is responsible for the poor state of well-being of the people of Gaza.
MENA: Question Time Following Gaza-Bound Flotilla Attack
As the dust settles, and some of the 'truths' come out, a new wave of tweets on Israel's attacking the Gaza-bound flotilla take over the Internet. Here are a few reactions from the Twittersphere summing up reactions of users around the world, some asking questions we are yet to learn the answers for.
Palestine: “I Support Turkey”
The Turkish-led flotilla which attempted to break the blockade of Gaza has strained Israeli-Turkish relations, while gaining Turkey much respect in the Arab world. One Gaza blogger has decided to show her appreciation for Turkey's stance in a practical way - by starting a campaign to buy Turkish goods.
Taiwan: An open letter to Japanese architect Tadao Ando
Architect and blogger Sun De-hong(孫德鴻), in his open letter, asks Tadao Ando, the famous Japanese architect “What is social responsibility?“(zht). Sun questions Tadao Ando–who always talks about “architects’ social responsibility” in speeches–whether it is socially responsible to build his new “Church of Earth” on the precious and diminishing farmland in...
Singapore: Pink Dot 2010
More than 4,000 Singaporeans gathered at Hong Lim Park to make a large human pink dot to celebrate love regardless of sexual orientation. It is Singapore’s biggest LGBT parade.
