Stories from 30 November 2010
Russia: Competing Models of Internet Politics
RuNet becomes an arena of the competition of at least two concepts of the usage of the cyberspace: "United Russia"'s formula "Internet instead of democracy" and independent, grass-roots formula "Internet as a free environment for civil society initiatives." Alexey Sidorenko analyzed the recent trends of the role of the Internet in contemporary Russian politics.
China: “Hang the Slaves of the West”
A new website that vilifies Chinese political liberals, including 2010 Nobel Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, has caught the attention of the Chinese internet for its extreme views. Why has it not been removed by censors?
Additional Context on the Recent Political Arrests in Madagascar
Blogger Alain Rajaonarivony writes at length about the implications of the recent series of political arrests in Madagascar (fr). A close relative to Raymond Ranjeva and his daughter describes the circumstances of their arrest. Here is a petition to denounce the arbitrary arrests (fr).
China: Censorship instruction November 22-28
China Digital Times has collected and translated a number of censorship instructions issued by the Propaganda department to media outlets from November 22-28 2010.
Brand China
Imagethief blogs the discussion on “brand China” at the Capital-M Trialogue. The discussion panel addressed issues related to the ability of the Chinese companies to establish their brands internationally, and Chinese soft power and international perceptions of China as a whole.
Fiji Water closes the tap and leaves Fiji
After squabbling with Fiji's government, the US-based premium water company Fiji Water closed its bottling plant and canceled its contracts. While the company's leaders hope to strike a deal with Fiji's military government, an estimated 4,000 people are affected by the closure. Fiji's bloggers and commenters provide their take on the matter.
Guatemala: Film Festival Under the Moonlight
From November 30 to December 4, Guatemalan movies and documentaries will be shown for free at the “IV Festival de Cine Bajo la Luna” [IV Film Festival Under the Moonlight]. The blog Ati provides a schedule [es] and additional information [es].
Central & Eastern Europe: Initial Reactions to WikiLeaks’ Cablegate
While other regions feature a lot more prominently in the collection of U.S. embassy cables published by WikiLeaks thus far, a few countries of the CEE region do appear in the kickoff edition of Cablegate. Below is a small selection of initial reactions from the region's bloggers.
Philippines: #dearlottowinner hashtag
Twitter users in the Philippines are using the hashtag #dearlottowinner to greet and send suggestions to the lone grand lotto winner who stands to receive $US15 million, the biggest jackpot prize in Philippine gaming history.