Global Voices · Citizen media stories from January 2009

January, 2009

Monthly archive · 248 posts

Stories from January, 2009

21 January 2009

Bahrain: Scores of Websites Blocked

Written by Amira Al Hussaini · Middle East & North Africa

Scores of websites have been blocked in Bahrain, following a new crackdown by the Ministry of Information. The latest sweep makes sites ranging from Google Translate to those of social, religious, human rights and political groups inaccessible to people in Bahrain.

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Indonesia: Questions for President Obama

Written by Martin Manurung · East Asia, North America

Between January 20-21, there were 27,968 blog entries that mention the word ‘Obama' in Indonesia. Furthermore, almost all national TV stations broadcasted live the inauguration last night.

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Brunei: Rainy days and flooding

Written by Senor Pablo · East Asia

It is the middle of the annual North-East Monsoon season and Brunei has been experiencing strong winds and rainfall. It was just ten days ago that part of the country was submerged by waters. Blogs, no doubt play an important role in informing the public on the state of the rain and the aftermath.

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French Caribbean, Palestine, Israel: Economic Boycott?

Written by Fabienne Flessel · Middle East & North Africa, Caribbean

French West Indians and Caribbeans have expressed their solidarity with the population in Gaza in many ways since the bombings began. Is an economic boycott one of them? Bloggers discuss the possibilities.

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Caribbean: Obama's Day

Written by Janine Mendes-Franco · North America, Caribbean

Like the rest of the world, the eyes of the Caribbean were on Washington, DC yesterday, as Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. Regional and diaspora bloggers - for the most part - could not contain their enthusiasm over this history-making moment.

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Japan: Coming of age in 2009

Written by Scilla Alecci · East Asia

Every year, on the second Monday of January, in the neighbourhood of every city hall of Japan, one can see young men wearing the hakama (typical Japanese trousers) and women...

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Updates from January, 2009

28 January 2009

Guyana

Guyana 360 maintains that the former First Lady is not the only one who has suffered “high-tech abuse” at the hands of the country's President.

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Bahamas

The Barbados Association of Journalists writes in its blog that it is “concerned by the recent notices issued by the Labour Department requiring freelance media personnel to register with the Chief Labour Officer and pay fees of $550…this action is unprecedented in the history of our island and in our view, has serious implications for our constitutional rights to freedom of expression.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Iran

Ghomar Asheganeh, an Iran based blogger says [fa] that “Iranian political prisoners have been under more pressure recently.They are forced to follow some religious activities such as prayer in order to meet and contact their family members”.

• Fred Petrossian

Hong Kong (China)

ESWN summarized local newspapers reports on fortune stick reading in Lunar new year. The unfavorable outcome stirred up a hot discussion about: who is the traitors inside home?

• Oiwan Lam

Thailand

The Rohingya have been called “trafficked victims”, “refugees”, “forced migrants” and “illegal migrants”. The Irrawaddy provides a comprehensive background to the situation of the Rohingya. This issue has involved Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh and even the United States.

• Mong Palatino

Singapore

groundnotes criticizes Singapore's Prime Minister for saying that political change cannot come from the opposition but from within the ruling party and that a two-party system is not suitable for Singapore because it doesn't have enough talent.

• Mong Palatino