16 February 2011

Stories from 16 February 2011

Bahrain: Safe Day for Protesters

  16 February 2011

It was a safe day for protesters in Bahrain today, with the police forces staying at bay, and allowing the protests to go unhampered. The day marks a total change to the police brutality protesters faced on the first and second day of the demonstrations, which saw the death of two protesters.

Russia: Recreating a Traditional Village Hospital

RuNet Echo  16 February 2011

Mikhail Shlyapnikov (LJ user michael-077) writes in detail (RUS) about plans to set up a communal village hospital – old-style, but functional – in Kolionovo, Moscow region: “This, perhaps, is a rare case in contemporary history of rural Russia when, contrary to the general tendency, a village hospital is not...

Bhutan: Amend The Tobacco Control Act

  16 February 2011

Tshering Tobgay calls all the concerned Bhutanese citizens to lead a movement to amend the draconian Tobacco Control Act, which can penalize 23 year old Sonam Tshering, a jail-term for minimum 3 years for smuggling Rs. 96 (approx US$2) worth of chewing tobacco.

Cuba: Cyberwar? Video Sparks Debate, Anger, Skepticism

  16 February 2011

A video posted February 1st on Vimeo features a 52-minute presentation on new information technologies and a “ciberguerra” allegedly being waged on Cuba by the United States government and US-based NGOs. Initial reports called this a classified government video that had been leaked, but some bloggers (on and off the island) are questioning this assertion.

Caucasus: The Vagina Monologues

  16 February 2011

Georgia On My Mind provides its readers with a comprehensive review of The Vagina Monologues held earlier this week in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital. Controversial as it was bound to be in a region more renowned for its patriarchal values, the event, which included performances from women from Armenia, Azerbaijan,...

Mexico: Journalist Carmen Aristegui to Return to MVS Radio

  16 February 2011

Aguachile reports: “In a joint communique, MVS Radio and Carmen Aristegui announced that the journalist will be back at the radio station the coming Jan. 21″ and wonders “if we'll ever know more about what led to her dismissal: Was any pressure coming from the presidential office of Felipe Calderón,...

Azerbaijan: The Sinner and The Saint

  16 February 2011

As irreverent as ever, Scary Azeri comments on Azerbaijan's entry into this year's Eurovision Song Contest. Contrasting the angelic look of the male singer with the seductive maturer attributes of the female, the blog sarcastically concludes that Eldar and Nigar might be absurd enough a duo to stand a good...

Cuba: Dissidents Arrested?

  16 February 2011

Babalu is concerned about two missing Cuban dissidents; Uncommon Sense re-posts the message, saying: “I'm afraid we will see a lot of this in coming days, with next week's one-year anniversary of the death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo and the Internet-based call for an Egypt-style uprising on the island.”

Trinidad & Tobago: “Arima” in Kiddies Carnival

  16 February 2011

“Arima — which means both ‘place of the beginning’ and ‘water’ — is an indigenous Amerindian place name for what is now a large town in eastern Trinidad”: Alice Yard blogs about its children’s Carnival masquerade band, which “attempts to bring these two definitions together”.

Guyana: Mashramani Festival

  16 February 2011

“On February 23, people from the ten regions of Guyana converge on the country’s capital to participate in the grand, massive carnival-like event, with costumed bands and a float parade”: Repeating Islands blogs about the Mashramani festival.

Trinidad & Tobago: Same Sex Marriage

  16 February 2011

Lisa Allen-Agostini thinks “it’s great that we have begun to think about the question of same-sex marriage in Trinidad and Tobago…[but] we have a long way to go–legally as well as socially–before we can make it an option for our people.”