Stories from 9 October 2010
Hungary: Chemical Waste Reservoir Still Dangerous
Marietta Le translates a firsthand account from the area affected by the the caustic red sludge spill in Western Hungary and provides information on how to help the victims.
Cuba: What happened with Twitter?
Ellery Roberts Biddle comments on the reaction of some bloggers [ES] to the technical difficulties that impeded sending Twitter messages via SMS in Cuba: “This raises an uncomfortable question about how activists and advocates for free speech online (a group I consider myself to be a part of) interpret and...
Puerto Rico: Goodbye Santa Rita
Bea explains why she is moving [ES] from Santa Rita, the university neighborhood that harbors the main campus of the University of Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico: A Blog on Gender Discrimination in Law Schools
Environmentalist lawyer, law professor at the University of Puerto Rico, and blogger Erika Fontánez examines the possibility of opening a blog [ES] to discuss gender discrimination against female law professors in law schools: “Maybe its time to openly talk about what it means to be a female law professor.”
Russia: Moscow Mayor's Dismissal and Some “Kremlinology”
The dismissal of Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov on Sept. 28 inspired Anglophone Russia bloggers to write about Putin, Medvedev, Sechin, the 2012 presidential election, Luzhkov's wife and her business, and even Chicago mayor Richard Daley.
India: Women In Call Centers
Manka Banda at AAUW Dialog reviews Reena Patel's recent book which discusses among other things about the challenges and opportunities female employees in India’s call centers encounter in their everyday lives.
Bangladesh: Increase In Cost Of Living
An Ordinary Citizen wonders whether the Bangladesh government should “take necessary steps to keep the inflation controlled and to reduce the cost of living” to avoid loss of faith among common citizens.
India: Chennai’s Moral Police
Sharanya Manivannan at Ultra Violet shares some experiences involving Chennai's police who exercise moral policing on women.
Pakistan: Judiciary Is The Lifeline
Fatima Saleem at Change-Dignity-Prosperity opines that in Pakistan the “only possible change is through judiciary now”.
Kyrgyzstan: Cast your votes!
The October 10 parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan are likely to be the freest and fairest in the country's young history. As such, they offer a perfect opportunity to test the impact of the Internet on public life in the country. Website EurasiaNet.org [eng] ran a brief feature on a new initiative...
Puerto Rico: Wave of Hate Crimes against LGBT community
Gay activist and blogger Pedro Julio Serrano has demanded that the Police [ES] investigate the latest case of attempted murder against a transsexual woman in Puerto Rico as a hate crime. Ten members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community have been murdered in the past 10 months in...
China's ‘Directed Public’ receives Nobel Peace Prize
Timothy Cheek from the University of British Columbia has a video commentary on the Nobel Peace Prize and an article on China's directed public sphere at Asia Pacific Memo.
China: Liu Xiaobo the intellectual
On 8 October 2010, Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He is a renowned literary critic, political essayist and activist based in Beijing. Trained in literature and philosophy in the 1980s, he was then described as a ‘dark horse’ in China’s literary circle for his pointed critiques and...
Liberia: Liberia's Rape Court
Jina writes about Liberia's “Rape Court”: “The court, which will turn two in Februrary, was a direct response to what many people we met called a rape “epidemic” in Liberia. The country's post-war rape stats are sky-high, and most of the victims are young girls.”
Kenya: Raising the Bar for MP Party Nominations
Raising the bar for MP party nominations in Kenya: “Headlines of outstanding warrants for fraud and forgery, questionable accumulation of wealth, and the recent road rage incident continue to haunt MP for Makadara the Honorable Mr Gideon Mbuvi Kioko aka ‘Mike Sonko’. “
Africa: On Traditional Healers
A light-hearted film with an important message about the relationship between modern medicine and traditional medicine: ‘When a Kenyan man discovers he is HIV positive, he turns to a traditional healer for help. But what advice will the witch doctor dispense?”
Africa: African elite rulers, quacks and bulimia
“African elite rulers, quacks and bulimia” by Tanzanian blogger Nkwazi Mhango: “Like Mugabe, Kikwete is currently using public funds to run his campaigns in order to remain in power. His chief campaigners are none but his wife Salma and his son Ridhiwani.”
China: Congratulations to the Freedom Fighter Liu Xiaobo
China digital times translated blogger Ran Yunfei's blog post dedicated to 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo.
Universal human rights, cultural relativism and the Asian values debate
East Asia Forum has published an article written by Patrick Chin-Dahler on the debate between universal human rights, cultural relativism and the Asian values.
China: The Nobel Prize and the CCP’s Ignoble Response
Jottings from the Granite Studio comments on the Chinese Communist Party's response to the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize award.
World: One Day on Earth on 10.10.10
The One Day on Earth project is only a day away, a day where people from all over the planet will record videos during that day, send them in, and they will become part of a documentary film and experience that will represent a snapshot of humankind.
