Stories from 8 December 2012
Puerto Rico: Social Media Users Rally Behind “Boicot a La Comay”
Antulio “Kobbo” Santarosa (aka, La Comay), provoked widespread anger when, amidst gossip and innuendos, he blamed a recent victim of a gruesome torture and murder for allegedly bringing his own death upon himself.
Women Banned from Using Mobile Phones in Indian Villages
A village council in the Indian state of Bihar has banned women from using mobile phones because it is “debasing the social atmosphere” and leading couples to elope. Similar bans have also been seen in other parts of India.
Fighting Deportation in the U.S.
The national "We Belong Together" campaign is compiling testimonies in response to the passing of new immigration laws in the U.S. and addressing the prejudices they perpetuate.
Spain: Young Emigrants Have “Spirit of Adventure”
Marina del Corral Téllez, the Secretary General of Immigration and Emigration of the Ministry of Employment and Social Security, has been in the spotlight thanks to certain statements which have inflamed social media with indignant messages. Del Corral states that the emigration of Spanish youth is due not only to the crisis currently hitting the country, but to their "youthful drive for adventure."
Interview with Chanphal Sok: Cambodian Writer and Songwriter
Global Voices interviews Chanphal Sok,one of Cambodia's famous contemporary songwriters. Also a prolific blogger, Chanphal has published several books in the internet. Chanphal discusses the state of book publishing in Cambodia as well as the prospect of online publishing in the next few years.
Xinjiang Nut Cakes and Ethnic Conflict in China
Off Beat China highlights an ethnic conflict between Uyghur nut cake sellers and Chinese customers which had developed into a mass fight. The compensation of RMB 200,000 to the Uyghur sellers have generated a lot of resentment among Chinese on the ethnic policy.
Chinese Supreme Court Says Self-Immolation Is Murder
Anthony Tao from Beijing Cream highlighted the Chinese Supreme Court's latest statement that self-immolation is “intentional murder.” The blogger obviously disagreed: Self-immolation is not murder. It’s a tragic, incomprehensible, radical act made against harsh political, social, and economic realities.
The Very Different Fates of Two Chinese Nobel Prize Winners
This year's winner of the Nobel Prize in literature, Mo Yan, has travelled to Stockholm to receive his prize. However in contrast, the 2010 Nobel Prize in Peace winner, Liu Xiaobo, is still in prison in China and his wife Liu Xia under house arrest.
Sounding the Alarm on Hungary's New Electoral Law
Hungarian Spectrum posts an English translation of the appeal by the members of the pre-1989 Democracy Movement to organizations of the European Union, in which they share their concerns regarding the new electoral law: If the next Hungarian elections in 2014 were to be held under the recently rammed-through rules,...
Slovenia: “Second Republic (Again)”
Sleeping With Pengovsky explains the current political situation in Slovenia (more – here and here): […] [PM Janez Janša] already controls the parliament. He controls the economy. And as of last Sunday, he also controls the president of the republic. […] The only unknown in this scenario are protests. The...
