9 September 2008
Stories from 9 September 2008
Angola: Chaos and hopes mark first election in 16 years
"I waited for this day with great anxiety and curiosity because I knew it was a special day for Angola and Angolans. For many years our daily lives had been marked by the sadness of war. A war that claimed lives, destroyed property and consumed much of our resources and energy. At last we face a historic event", says a blogger about his first vote.
·
read »
Caribbean: Ike Strikes
The 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season is not letting up. Beleaguered Caribbean islands like Cuba and Haiti barely had time to recover from the ravages of Hurricanes Gustav and Hanna when Mother Nature struck once again, this time in the form of Ike. Tensions were high with bloggers Caribbean-wide.
·
read »
Morocco: Understanding Mohammed Raji's Sentence
Less than a year ago, Global Voices noted Morocco as the “liveliest free speech zone in Muslim North Africa.” And yet, journalists are all too frequently fined or arrested, and yesterday a blogger, Mohammed Raji, joined their ranks. The blogger was arrested yesterday afternoon for insulting the king, and was immediately tried and sentenced to two years in prison and a fine of MAD 5,000 (about $625). The Moroccan blogosphere, lively as ever, has rallied around Raji.
·
read »
Japan: Bloggers debate Uesugi's Collapse of Journalism
In his new book “The Collapse of Journalism”, released in July, freelance journalist Takashi Uesugi strips down the murky Japanese media system and offers a glimpse inside. A former New York Times journalist and currently a contributor to numerous Japanese magazines and TV programs, Uesugi points out anomalies in Japanese journalism when compared with other democratic countries. Read responses from Japanese journalists and bloggers, translated in this post.
·
read »
I do not support capital punishment, in this instance there have no other alternative. What these killers have done is...