Stories from 5 March 2011
Romania: Education System
Csíkszereda Musings writes about some of the problems with the Romanian education system – here and here.
Qatar: A Blogger Detained, Incommunicado
In what appears to be Qatar's first known arrest of a blogger, Amnesty International has reported the detention of Sultan Al-Khalifi, a human rights activist.
Bahrain: When Geeks Protest
On Saturday a group of IT specialists held a anti government rally raising “geeky” signs and slogans. Tweep Jalal Al-Jazeeri @JTheIslander, an IT geek himself, was on location and tweeted these photos showing some of the most creative signs.
Middle East: Revolutionary Breeze Blowing from Cairo to Benghazi
Egyptian Tarek Shalaby shares the details of the trip he organized with friends to Libya in order to show solidarity with the Libyan people, as well as deliver medical supplies to them.
Russia: Torture and Lawlessness in Dagestan
At OpenDemocracy.net, Tanya Lokshina writes about torture, humiliation and lawlessness taking place in Russia's North Caucasus region of Dagestan.
Russia: The Washington Post's Coverage Review
The Ivanov Report posts a quick review of the Washington Post's February coverage of Russia.
Peru: Wikileaks and the Presidential Campaign
One of the unexpected consequences of the cables released by Wikileaks has been its impact on the Peruvian presidential campaign. Juan Arellano compiles some reactions and analysis to the cables and their effect on the current Peruvian presidential campaign.
Sri Lanka: Why No Tamil Revolution?
Indi.ca explains why there are no Tamil uprisings in Sri Lanka visible like the recent ones in Middle East and Northern Africa.
Bangladesh: Netizens Protest Removal of Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus From Bank
The central bank of Bangladesh ordered the removal of Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the pioneer of Microcredit and the head of Grameen Bank, on the grounds that he had overstayed in his position violating the law. Dr. Yunus is challenging this in court and thousands of supporters are protesting across the country against his removal. Netizens also react.
South Korea: Battling Against Foreign Finance's Encroachment
Korea Exchange Bank employees and civil rights activists have taken to the streets of Seoul to protest against the encroachment of foreign finance on Korean financial turf. Korean net users have joined their move by retweeting and spreading KEB employees's postings.
USA: Protests in Support of Labor Rights (Videos)
Across the United States words of solidarity for workers rights and concerns about a union-busting wave are circulating through popular social media sites.
Russia: Maslenitsa Vocabulary
Some Russian vocabulary and other relevant info for the welcoming-of-spring holiday of Maslenitsa – at Russian Blog.
Russia: “Tutor/Nanny/Friend/Plaything”
English Man In Moscow, who seeks to be hired as a tutor by an affluent Russian family with kids, writes about a recent 3-hour “‘trial’ lesson” that he gave to a 9-year-old for $43/26 GBP/1,250 rubles per hour. (“Not a fortune, but at the low end of pay for private...
Ukraine: Cases Against Tymoshenko and Lutsenko
Foreign Notes writes about the cases against Ukraine's ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko (“180 volumes of evidence of between 250 and 300 pages each”) and ex-Interior Minister Yuri Lutsenko.
South Asia: Comparing Indian States with India's Neighbors
“India clearly has a coherent identity as the world’s largest democracy, but aggregating economic and social data on the national level, and using it to compare India to its neighbors, is possibly very misleading,” comments Razib Khan at Sepia Mutiny.
India: All Hail The Delhi Metro
Jai Arjun Singh, a regular commuter, praises the Delhi Metro. Read his post at Jabbarwock to learn why.
Bahrain: Tweeps Dreaming of a Better Bahrain
On Saturday morning, a new hashtag appeared on the Bahrain Twittersphere and many tweeps expressed their hopes, dreams and highlighted their demands through #IdreamofaBH.
India: The Paypal Debate
Jaya comments on the recent spat between the Indian central bank – RBI and Paypal, which is failing to work properly in India due to regulations.
Colombia: The earth shook to show people that Necoclí exists
On the 2nd of March 2011, a tremor measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale was felt in the department of Antioquia and part of northern Colombia. The epicentre of this shock was in the Necoclí municipality (located in Antioquia) and although there were no victims, an ex traordinary fact – as well as the quake itself – that emerged through Twitter was the ignorance of some to the existence of Necoclí.
Russia: Mikhail Gorbachev's Legacy
At OpenDemocracy.net, Archie Brown and Lilia Shevtsova write about the legacy of Mikhail Gorbachev, who turned 80 on March 2. Veni Markovski thanks Gorbachev on behalf of Bulgarians and other citizens of Central and Eastern Europe “for tearing down that wall.”
Russia: Khodorkovsky Case Roundup
Belatedly, a roundup of Mikhail Khodorkovsky-related posts: more coverage of “the saga of courtroom whistleblower Natalya Vasilyeva” – at The Power Vertical, Sean's Russia Blog, and OpenDemocracy.net (the latter also has Mumin Shakirov's text on Russian celebrities’ changed attitudes towards the YuKOS case verdicts); A Good Treaty writes about the...
