18 February 2013

Stories from 18 February 2013

Japan's Porn Law is Strangling Artists

  18 February 2013

World renown Fashion photographer Leslie Kee was arrested for selling obscene images at his latest exhibition in Tokyo. But is his work art or porn? In this post we look at the regulation of 'offensive' artistic expression in Japan.

Pakistan's Hazara Shias Demand Arrests, Protection After Deadly Bombing

  18 February 2013

In the latest attack against Pakistan's Hazara Shia minority, a bomb ripped through a busy market in the southwestern city of Quetta in Pakistan on February 16, claiming as many as 63 people and injuring 180 others. Many have accused the government of inaction, demanding that authorities step in and put an end to the mass killings.

Egyptians Elected Morsi Because …

  18 February 2013

On Twitter, Egyptians who voted for Mohamed Morsi in the Egyptian presidential elections in June 24 are remorseful - and their regret is evident in a new hashtag which reads: I elected Morsi because .. The hashtag [ar] #انا_انتخبت_مرسي_عشان generated tongue-in-cheek and sarcasm. Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, won the presidential runoff elections against Ahmed Shafik, the last prime minister of Hosni Mubarak, who resigned after 32 years following 18 days of country-wide protests against his rule.

Brazil: Newspaper and Satire Blog Battle

  18 February 2013

The main clash is between the version of Folha, which practices censorship under the guise of brand protection, and the version of Falha, which evokes freedom of expression. Brazilian journalist Lino Bocchini informs [pt] that the case of Folha de São Paulo newspaper against the satirical blog Falha de São...

Spanish Parliamentarians Tweet Secret Mario Draghi meeting

  18 February 2013

El Presidente del Banco Central Europeo (BCE) Mario Draghi pidió que su intervención en el Congreso español se realizara a puertas cerradas. Pero dos diputados desobedecieron la petición de Draghi y transmitieron en tiempo real en Twitter las intervenciones de Draghi bajo la etiqueta que ellos mismo crearon #OpenDraghi.

500 Reasons to Love Colombia

  18 February 2013

The team of travel writers at the Colombia Travel Blog celebrated their 500th post by coming up with a list of 500 reasons they love Colombia. The truth is, there are hundreds more reasons to come and thousands more reasons that we love the country, but we could also boil it down...

A Second Revolution in Libya?

  18 February 2013

The road to democracy is a bumpy one for Libyans, who are marking the second anniversary of their revolution this week. Fozia Mohamed charts the reactions of bloggers on the occasion. Could this be Libya's real second revolution?

Indonesia's Bill on Mass Organizations

  18 February 2013

This legal dragon in the making will seriously restrict fundamental liberties of freedom of association & assembly and freedom of thought & expression in Indonesia. For instance it potentially will effectively prevent civil organizations from revealing, denouncing, let alone charging, criminal practices, including human trafficking or corruption. Colson reviews the...

Crowdfunders Empty Pockets for Catalan Independence

  18 February 2013

‘L'endemà. Respostes per a decidir‘, a documentary project about Catalonia's potential independence from Spain, produced by Isona Passola [ca], earned a record-breaking €150,000 on the crowdfunding platform Verkami on February 15, 2013. Passola, who produced the award-winning film Pa Negre [ca], hoped to reach that amount in 40 days, but reached that goal in just eleven....

Tax Holiday for Albanian Youth?

  18 February 2013

THREE YEAR TAX LIFT FOR EMPLOYED YOUTH In a significant boost to youth employment, the government will decide during the coming weeks about the lifting of taxes (social security, health and personal income tax) and expenses of new trainings of those employed in the private sector. We keep our promises! The...