Stories from 13 June 2011
Cuba: Activists, Bloggers on the Cuba Money Project Vimeo Channel
The Cuba Money Project has launched an impressive video archive with interviews of activists and bloggers in Cuba. Global Voices author Ellery Biddle interviews Tracey Eaton, the founder of the non-profit research and reporting initiative that aims to investigate and bring greater transparency and accountability to US federal spending on “pro-democracy” programs in Cuba.
Jordan: King Abdullah Shares His Vision for Reform
Abdullah II of Jordan spoke to the country Sunday night about national unity, reform, priorities and his vision for the political future of the country, which will include a constitutional, elected government, and democratic political and economic reform. Jordanian netizens react to the speech.
Tunisia: Protest to Free a Government Critic
Tunisian protesters took to the streets yesterday calling for the immediate release of Samir Feriani, who has been in custody since May 29, 2011, for openly criticising the Interior Ministry. Human Rights Watch and Anonymous both addressed the Tunisian authorities and asked them to free him.
Afghanistan: $60 million class action against Blackwater
Nick Fielding addresses the problem of killed or injured civilian contractors in Afghanistan through the story about U.S. lawyer Scott J Bloch, who filed a $60 million class action lawsuit...
Kyrgyzstan: Revisiting the 2009 death of a journalist
Tomyris revisits the mysterious assassination of Kyrgyz opposition journalist Gennady Pavlyuk in 2009, as one former Kyrgyzstan national security service agent and two Kazakhstan citizens are facing court trial in...
Afghanistan: Repeating What We Already Knew
Joshua Foust reviews the U.S. Senate's damning report on Afghanistan reconstruction and misuse of aid money, adding that “it says little new, but appears to do so in an authoritative...
Kyrgyzstan: CIS counterparts ready to intervene
Joshua Foust updates on the situation in Kyrgyzstan following the one-year anniversary of the 2010 inter-ethnic violence in Southwestern Kyrgyzstan, as the nation's external counterparts are closely monitoring the situation...
Afghanistan: Building bridges with Pakistan
UmairJ writes about the visit of Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai to Islamabad in an attempt to better relationship between the two nations and seek support of Pakistan in forcing the...
Taiwan: an alternative Japanese history
Sponge Bear speculates about what would have happened if Taiwan had remained a territory of Japan after the Second World War.
Singapore: Tap water for a fee?
G Hui criticizes Singapore food establishments which charge customers who ask for a tap water.
Singapore: Conditions of expats and workers
Aurvandil links to some studies on the conditions of expats and workers in Singapore and made this conclusion: “It's a serious policy failure on the part of the (government) that...
Singapore: Flooding and the Marina Barrage
Jeremy Chen asks if the recent flooding in Singapore was caused by the Marina Barrage.
Singapore: Social media stats during election
Chan Chi-Loong from Singapore provides a summary of social media statistics, including the most talked about topics and personalities on twitter, during the general election last month.
Petition to rename South China Sea
A petition initiated by the Nguyen Thai Hoc Foundation urges the renaming of the South China Sea into Southeast Asia Sea. It is related to the dispute over the Spratly...
Brazil: Rio Wears Red in Support of Firefighters
Since mid-April, a movement started by a group of military firefighters from Rio de Janeiro demanding for better working conditions had been gaining increasing support. With the occupation of the headquarters by thousands of demonstrators last week, which lead to a shock reaction by police forces, Rio wore red in solidarity with the firefighters.
