Stories from 9 August 2011
Ukraine: Party of Regions’ “Prejudicial Statement” on Tymoshenko's Case
LEvko of Foreign Notes quotes “a highly prejudicial statement [in goofy English],” posted on the Party of Regions’ website, to explain why “western observers call the Tymoshenko trial a farce, a bad joke, a pantomime, etc. etc.”
Slovenia: A Comment on the U.K. Riots
Sleeping With Pengovsky comments on the riots and looting in the U.K.: “But I must say I got the heebie-jeebies when I heard on the BBC that some people were thinking of bringing in the army. Please, don’t. […] I come from the part of the world where there was...
Russia: Learning Russian Via Social Networks
Tips on learning Russian through social networking sites – at Russian Language Blog.
The Balkans: History, Politics and Ethnic Identities
At OpenDemocracy.net, Milan Marinkovic writes about history, politics and ethnic identities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. At Balkan Anarchist, Alan Jakšić writes about his own Croatian Serb identity and some of the political issues related to it.
Palestine: Israeli Bulldozers Blamed for Cutting Off Gaza Telecoms
Reports are appearing online of a total communication blackout in Gaza. On Twitter, users are blaming Israeli bulldozers for the outage. Here is part of the conversation.
Libya: Humanitarian Conditions Continue to Deteriorate this Ramadan
Libyans continue to suffer from dire humanitarian conditions as the war in their country rages this Ramadan. From food to water to fuel and power shortages, to burying their dead and the lack of reliable information on what is happening in their own backyard, this month of fasting is proving to be a hard one.
Yemen: Pressing Humanitarian Needs and Deteriorating Economic Situation
The United Nations Security Council has issued a statement expressing grave concern about the situation on the ground in Yemen, including pressing humanitarian needs and a deteriorating economic situation following months of protests calling for the overthrow of the Ali Abdullah Saleh regime.
Guatemala: Police Kill Peasant With Tear Gas Canister
Indigenous peasants living on lands claimed by landowners in Guatemala are often violently evicted from their homes by policemen and soldiers. Last week, 31-year-old Sergio de León was killed when a policeman fired a tear gas canister at his chest during an eviction.
Chile: How to Follow the Student Protests Online
Students in Chile are marching for education reform once again today, August 9. Blogger Daniel Fajardo provides a guide on how to follow the protests and the student movement online. He includes a list of Twitter hashtags (#estudiantes, #marcha, #marchaestudiantil, #paronacional, #paroestudiantes, #caceroleo, #9deagtosto, #opchile, #chilequierepaz) and links to sites...
Argentina: The Economy and Cristina Fernández's Reelection
Bloggings by boz looks at how the economy might affect Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's reelection in the upcoming October presidential elections.
Honduras: Judge Issues Arrest Warrants for Journalist and Environmentalists
“A Honduran judge issued arrest warrants for a journalist and 16 environmental leaders for allegedly opposing a forest management plan in the town of El Porvenir, in central Honduras, reported the Committee for Free Expression (C-Libre in Spanish)”: writes Monica Medel for the Knight Center's Journalism in the Americas blog.
Barbados: Threat to Borders?
Barbados Underground suggests that “as the economic condition of many around the region in markets known for exporting drugs…declines, the threat to our border will increase, ” adding: “Barbadians must not yield to others who have failed to show how they can manage a stable society in the way Barbados...
Bahamas: The Female Perspective
“Environmentalism, Bahamian social woes, immigration and even the financial crisis…from what is unmistakably a feminine perspective”? ARC highlights a new exhibition by the country's leading female artists.
Puerto Rico: Reasons for Riots
B.C. Pires and Gil the Jenius comment on the riots in London, with the latter saying, with regard to Puerto Rico: “It [the cause of rioting] boils down to two basic factors: a population that feels dissatisfied with its government and a government trying to suppress the populace. Oppression can...
Trinidad & Tobago, St. Vincent: “Blogaversaries”
Two regional bloggers mark the anniversaries of their blogs – Abeni, from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, who says: “Back then I had no idea where I was heading but it [blogging] seemed a pretty cool thing to do”, and T&T diaspora blogger Afrobella, who writes: “Creating this blog taught...
Jamaica: Art Supporter Dies
National Gallery of Jamaica Blog pays tribute to art collector and dealer Guy McIntosh, who passed away yesterday.
Poets from the World
The blog Tejedor de Palabras [es] presents audio interviews of poets from different cities across the world.
Spain: The Importance of the McBride Report
Journalist and blogger Nubia Esmeralda Rojas offers an in-depth analysis of the famous McBride Report (1980) and its relevance in the age of the Internet and social media.
Cuba: Interview of Ted Henken
Luis García Méndez interviews [es] US academic Ted Henken about the Cuban blogosphere. The interview has caused an interesting debate [es] within the Cuban blogging community.
Ethiopia: Local Media Ignore Famine
Endalk wonders why Ethiopian media ignores famine in the country: “While there has been news after news on the issue of on the global press which was lead by the Guardian and other global newspapers. I have been desperately running from newspaper to newspaper but I have barely seen a...
Zimbabwe: Connecting to God Through Airtime Recharge Card
Lenard discusses Zimbabwe's Pastor Makandiwa’s innovative idea of getting linked to his followers through recharge airtime card: “Pastor Emmanuel Makandiwa…recently launched an airtime recharge card called Christian Spiritual Link. With this recharge card one can communicate directly to the prophet by calling him to get over-the-phone prophecies and spiritual messages....
