24 February 2009

Stories from 24 February 2009

Mexico: War on Drugs Becoming Weirder

  24 February 2009

Mexico's war on drugs is getting “so surreal, absurd, and downright twisted” according to Daniel Hernandez of Intersections. He cites some recent incidents, including the claim that the drug cartels are organizing street protests against the Mexican military.

Chile: Parking Spaces for Disabled Drivers

  24 February 2009

Mario Carrasco Berrios describes some of his recent experiences in the city of Talca, Chile with the lack of parking spaces for disabled drivers [es], as well as the problem of drivers who are not disabled that take these reserved spaces.

Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago: Missing Carnival

  24 February 2009

B.C.Pires is in “quiet Barbados” for Carnival and wonders if he can still manage to catch a flight to Trinidad: “There really is nothing like it; even in its modern, diluted, throwaway, made-in-China form…”

Pakistan: Media Responsible

  24 February 2009

Thinking Out of the Box blames irresponsible journalism by a section of Pakistani media for the current state of affairs in Pakistan.

Cuba: One Year Later

  24 February 2009

Blog for Cuba says that one year after Cuba signed the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Personal Rights, “human rights abuses continue to escalate.”

India: Court Ruling Against Bloggers

  24 February 2009

Kafila informs about a recent Supreme Court ruling in India which states that “a person who starts a blog/community page cannot claim that it was a community page and not meant for public consumption.” That means the owner will be liable for all the collaborative contents and comments in that...

India: Slumdog Millionaire Sweeps The Oscar Awards

  24 February 2009

Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire, a British social film based on a novel set out in India made a clean sweep at the The 81st Academy Awards Ceremony. Its British and Indian crews bagged 8 awards including the best picture award. It was truly India's day as ‘Smile Pinky‘, another short...

Nigeria: Naijoo: Nigeria's Own Video Sharing Site

  24 February 2009

Nigeria has its own video sharing site, writes Loy at Startups Nigeria, “If you watch videos from Yahoo! TV, you’re probably going to enjoy Naija’s own video sharing community called Naijoo.Tv, an online video sharing site that allows you to upload, view and share video clips. When I first heard...

Kenya: Police harassment of activists

  24 February 2009

Kenyan Pundit reacts to reports about police harassment of activists, “The report is disturbing to say the very least, not just because it shows you just how paranoid and oppressive this government is becoming, but also because it gives some insight into how the extra-judicial killings that have been in...

Mexico: Urban Artists in Monterrey Take to the Internet

  24 February 2009

In the streets of Monterrey, a city best known for being the industrial and technological mecca of Mexico, graffiti and other urban artists are utilizing user-friendly electronic media in order to showcase their painted works and murals on the internet, but also in some cases to take advantage of the anonymity needed when painting illegally on public spaces.

Hong Kong: Defending freedom of speech

  24 February 2009

On 22 Feb 09, more than a hundred Hong Kong people took on the street to voice out their concerns about the alarming shrinking of freedom of speech in Hong Kong. The protest was proposed by the Citizens’ Radio and supported by other democratic institutions including Save RTHK Campaign, Hong...

Sudan: Mourning a Great Novelist and Musings on the ICC

  24 February 2009

After a long absence, a number of fascinating Sudanese bloggers, return to the blogosphere to rant, share their thoughts on recent events and vent. They're included in this roundup along with the usual suspects. After a frustrated rant about Khartoum International Airport's unhygienic condition, Sudanese Optimist mourned the passing of the respected and well-known Sudanese novelist, Al-Tayeb Saleh.

Georgia: Punk Rock

  24 February 2009

Georgian Live Music says the country's second largest city of Kutaisi was synonymous with rock and punk bands in the 1990s. The blog posts information and photos of some of them.