· August, 2012

Stories about Politics from August, 2012

Pakistan: Conflicting Reports in #SaveRimsha Blasphemy Case

  31 August 2012

The blasphemy law in Pakistan has been the focus of a heated debate yet again, after a minor christian girl named Rimsha was accused of blasphemy and was sent to jail. There have been a few conflicting reports about the case, and the most significant one being a picture of a girl being used, that has now become the face of the #SaveRimsha campaign.

Turkmenistan: Hip-Hop Key to Regime Survival

  31 August 2012

…[Turkmenistan's] young generation literally has got nothing to do. Which is why they love Hip Hop… But the government should not censor Hip Hop… for its own long-term survival. NewEurasia.net's Khan explains how the growing popularity of hip-hop in Turkmenistan benefits the authorities.

Thai MP Advice for Women to Marry Foreigners Stirs Controversy

  31 August 2012

Get a German husband. Get a Swedish husband. Get a Norwegian husband…All you need is a farang husband and their government will pay you to study. This was the advice of a Thai politician to poor women in Thailand. But the controversial statement was taken out of context, according to...

Combatting Cocaine Production in Bolivia, Colombia and Peru

  30 August 2012

Drug production and trafficking is a major issue in Latin America that governments are constantly trying to deal with. However, as the continent leaders gathered last April in Colombia for the Summit of the Americas fully agreed, the so far US-led war on drugs has failed in the Region. Peru, Colombia and Bolivia are the three largest illegal cocaine producing countries in the world. What are these Andean Countries doing to combat illegal drugs?

Russia: “The Sissy Conspiracy”

RuNet Echo  30 August 2012

On his Tumblr blog, Michael Idov, editor-in-chief of GQ Russia, writes that “pop conspirology, a favorite Russian pastime, is a projection of discomfort with slackened gender roles.” He explains: “It’s not just about the ‘Jews’ or the ‘world government’ any more. It’s about weird semiotic clusters organized around degrees of...

Bolivia: Radioactive Uranium Seized in La Paz?

  29 August 2012

'If the mineral found yesterday is #uranio (uranium), the first thing they should have done was verify if it was radioactive instead of calling the press!' Two tons of solid material, presumably uranium or radioactive minerals, were seized by authorities on August 28 in La Paz. The potential radioactivity of the material remains unclear.

Russia: Chainsaws to the Cross

RuNet Echo  29 August 2012

On August 25, unknown parties sawed down three wooden crosses in the city of Chelyabinsk, in the Urals. The same night, another cross came down in Arkhangelsk, in the north. Was it a copycat political statement, or a dire plot by the Kremlin to sow discord?

Pakistan: Long Road to Peace and Security

  29 August 2012

As Pakistan enters its 66th year of Independence, it is a good time to take stock of the security situation within the country - in order to understand what role the nation will continue to play in the overall security and stability of the region.

Vietnam: Gay Marriage and Human Rights

  29 August 2012

The proposal should be cautiously welcomed as a progressive move which grants equality and official acceptance to members of society who have not felt the benefit of these statuses before Matthew Parsfield believes that the news that Vietnam could soon become the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage should...

Russia: Police Claim Top Blogger Was Hacked from Germany

RuNet Echo  29 August 2012

The Moscow police department has determined [ru] that Aleksei Navalny's email and Twitter accounts were hacked in late June from a German IP address. Fellow liberal blogger Andrey Malgin criticized [ru] the announcement, accusing the authorities of disguising their own responsibility for supposedly stealing [ru] Navalny's passwords in a June 11 search [ru] of...

Are Ethiopians the Most Secretive People on Earth?

  29 August 2012

After weeks of rumors about the health and whereabouts of Ethiopia’s Prime Minster Meles Zenawi, the government finally announced his death from an "undisclosed illness" on August 21, 2012. There are many previous examples of such secrecy from Ethiopia, such as when Emperor Haile Selassie I tried to hide the 1973 famine, while Emperor Menelik II's death in 1913 was hidden from the public for years. Are Ethiopians the most secretive people in the world?

Trinidad & Tobago: State of the Nation

  29 August 2012

Comedienne Rachel Price used the first anniversary of the State of Emergency in Trinidad and Tobago -which was declared on Sunday August 21st 2011 and ended on December 5th that same year- to reflect on the current of affairs in the country.