Global Voices · Citizen media stories from 2008 September 23

23 September 2008

Daily archive · 8 posts

Stories from 23 September 2008

South Africa: Dude, Where's the Presidency?

Written by Muhammad Karim · Sub-Saharan Africa

The South African Blogosphere just sparked with the recent news of 11 Ministers and 3 deputy ministers resigning including South Africa's star minister, Trevor Manuel and The Deputy President, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. Here's what the bloggers are saying...

· 2

· read »

Venezuela: The Expulsion of Human Rights Watch

Written by Luis Carlos Diaz · Latin America

Armed military soldiers searched for José Miguel Vivancos, spokesperson for the international NGO Human Rights Watch, and expelled him from Venezuela hours after releasing the report at a press conference, which included critical commentary about the administration of Hugo Chávez. Bloggers and other online forumists provide their thoughts on the recent news.

· read »

Kuwait: YouTube Ban Lifted

Written by Amira Al Hussaini · Middle East & North Africa

News about YouTube being blocked in Kuwait hit the headlines yesterday, with bloggers frustrated over what they described as yet another intrusion on freedom of speech in their country. The ban has since been lifted. Here's a cross-section of reactions from Kuwait.

· 2

· read »

Kazakhstan: Who Lives Well in Kazakhstan

Written by Adil Nurmakov · Central Asia & Caucasus

As long as Kazakhstan still aspires to enter the top 50 most competitive states of the world (although these efforts have so far resulted in decline of its competitiveness, as...

· 1

· read »

Ecuador: The Concern for Citizen Safety

Written by Milton Ramirez · Latin America

Ecuador's economic difficulties are said to be one of the chief causes of crime around the country. Much of it is caused by the unemployed, who will find alternatives to eat and survive, which often means committing crimes or stealing. For the ordinary citizen, it is a quite different experience dealing with the cities' insecurity and local bloggers provide their thoughts.

· 1

· read »

Indonesia: Lights, Camera, Elections!

Written by Mong Palatino · East Asia

Next April, Indonesian voters will elect new members of Parliament. Political parties are now quietly launching their election campaigns. What surprised (or disturbed) many Indonesians is the high number of celebrities who were named as parliamentary candidates.

· 3

· read »

Hong Kong: Finance Tsunami

Written by Oiwan Lam · East Asia

As a major financial center in the world, the financial tsunami triggered by Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy hit the city badly. On sept 18, the Hang Seng Index (HIS) dived about...

· read »

Iran: Remembering Rasoulov, a Passionate Artist

Written by Fred Petrossian · Middle East & North Africa

Mohsen Rasoulov, a passionate Iranian photographer, artist, cartoonist and photo-blogger was one of 68 passengers who lost their lives when an Iran-bound Boeing 737 crashed at the end of August this year.

· 2

· read »

Updates from 23 September 2008

Pakistan

Pak Tea House comments on Saturday's Hotel Marriott bombing in Islamabad: “It is an open political war on Pakistan, a lethal tool to destabilize Pakistan.“

• Rezwan

Nepal

ABC blog reports that the new Maoist government had to take back their decision of reducing the budget on traditional Hindu and Mahayana Buddhist rituals of sacrificing animals because of protests. “Unless they abstain from coercing people to behave according to the party guidelines, even such positive and pious intentions of refraining from animal-killings would invite confrontations“, the blog adds.

• Rezwan

India

Sunday Posts discusses the politics behind resisting the establishment of Tata Motor's factory in Singur and the State Government's failure to resolve the problem. The blog also discusses the impacts it will have on the West Bengal state.

• Rezwan

Myanmar (Burma)

On the the eve of the first anniversary of Myanmar’s “Saffron Revolution,” The Irrawaddy website was hacked. A blog was set-up as a temporary mirror site . The Irrawady focuses on Myanmar and Southeast Asia.

• Mong Palatino

Poland

The beatroot hosts a discussion of the Polish-Russian-American relationship in the aftermath of the Russian-Georgian conflict.

• Veronica Khokhlova

Poland

The beatroot muses on what's considered “politics” in the United States and Poland.

• Veronica Khokhlova

Jordan

From Jordan, Naseem Tarawanah gives us a shocking preview of honour crimes in his country, where judges seem to condone such actions.

• Amira Al Hussaini

Saudi Arabia

“The country is changing, but at a glacial pace that is leaving me and many others dejected and frustrated. It is just disheartening to move in slow baby steps when we can — and should — take leaps ahead to the future,” writes Saudi Jeans on his country's national day.

• Amira Al Hussaini

Ukraine: Homophobic Legal Initiatives in Sync with Public Attitudes

Came to find this post after signing the AllOut petition (which already has almost 50k signatures, and needs to grow...
Please sign this if you are pro