Stories from 9 April 2009
Moldova: More on Social Media Aspect of Protests
Ethan Zuckerman writes about the social media and other aspects of the protests in Moldova: “I posted the following to Twitter: ‘NYTimes argues Twitter leads to Moldova riots. Moldovan gov’t blames Romania. Romania = Twitter? […]’ I got two interesting responses almost immediately. Dinu Popa noted: ‘[…] moldovan government blames...
Ukraine: “Operation Yatsenyuk”
Leopolis writes about the prospects of Arseny Yatsenyuk – “a glimmer of hope shines for many in Ukraine who are fed up.”
Moldova: “A ‘Romanian’ Flavor”
MoldovAnn posts an update on Moldova, including notes on “a ‘Romanian’ flavor to the demonstrations” – and this on reports “that internet was cut off”: “Sasha said that external internet traffic had been shut down (ie Facebook, vKontakte, etc), but internal traffic had been and continues to be “on”, although...
Russia: “Extorting the Victims of Beslan”
A translation of LJ user varfolomeev-v‘s report (RUS) on how “The State is demanding money from former hostages in Beslan” – at Robert Amsterdam's blog.
Moldova: Twitter Becomes “Collection of Spam”
Scraps of Moscow quotes Nicu Popescu, who writes: “If during the first day Twitter had live news from the main square, today Twitter has become a collection of spam.” Reviews of blog and New York Times coverage – here and here.
Moldova: Two More Reports from Chisinau
Two more installments from Chisinau guest-blogger Dorina – at Kosmopolito, here and here. Among other things, she mentions inaccessibility of certain sites in Moldova, including Facebook earlier today.
Peru: Ex-President Fujimori Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison
Former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori received his sentence: 25 years in prison convicted for crimes against humanity during his 1990-2000 administration. He was found to be guilty in his role of 25 murders during the operations against the Shining Path terrorist insurgency that gripped the nation. Peruvian bloggers react to the decision.
Moldova: “Twitter is Blocked”
Mihai Moscovici reports that “Twitter is blocked in Moldova.”
Macedonia: Facebook Removes Ministry of the Interior's Personal Profile
Creation and subsequent removal of the Facebook personal profile of the Ministry for Internal Affairs of Republic of Macedonia (MOI) attracted significant attention of the Macedonian public. Filip Stojanovski provides background and reviews bloggers' and media reactions to the incident.
Palestine: Parallels with Native Americans
Samuel Nichols, an American who works with the Christian Peacemaker Teams in the West Bank, writes about the parallels he sees between the history of the Native Americans and the situation of the Palestinians.
Georgia: Keeping an eye on Tbilisi protests
Frontline Club blogger Guy Degen posts an update on the opposition protests in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. The media blogger also is also posting live updates from his mobile phone on Twitter (text), Utter (audio) and Qik (video).
India: The 49 – 0 Vote
I Say What I Feel….. describes the unique feature of the provision of the 49-0 vote (no vote) according to the Indian constitution: “Suppose, highest number of votes for a candidate at a constituency are 100, and that constituency gets more than 100, 49 – 0, votes then, that constituency...
Pakistan: The Taliban Flogging Video Controversy
Faisal K. at Deadpan thought comments on the claims that the Taliban flogging video is a fake: “I personally do not think the video is a fake one but the nation needs proof and it needs it now. People are getting sick of all the head games being played on...
Brunei: Creating Environmental Awareness
The Earth Hour event highlighted the need for continued awareness on the need to preserve the fragile environment. Many bloggers in Brunei supported the Earth Hour event. But there are also those who believe that it was an insufficient action to preserve the environment.
Pakistan: Impact Of Daylight Saving Time
Hina Safdar at Chowrangi discusses the impact of Daylight Saving Time (DST) on human health. Pakistan has decided to advance clocks by one hour from 15th of April 2009.
India Elections '09: Bloggers on the Varun Gandhi controversy
Election campaigning is in full swing in India and amidst all the frenzy, the Pilbhit constituency in Uttar Pradesh, has come under the scanner after one of its young BJP candidates, Varun Gandhi courted controversy over his allegedly communal and inflammatory campaign speeches during election rallies in his constituency on...
Fiji: Court rules military government illegal
Fiji’s bloggers are reacting to a recent court ruling that deems the country’s military-backed government illegally came to power in December 2006. The court asks Fiji’s President to appoint a caretaker government to rule in its place until elections can be held.
UAE: May 9 BarCamp Planned for Dubai
“After the DemoCamps, Tweetups, and Twestival; Dubai will soon be witnessing another interesting event: BarCamp UAE,” writes Mohamed Marwen Meddah of StartUp Arabia, about this May 9 event.
Georgia: Opposition protests in Tbilisi (Updated)
Twenty years after clashes with Soviet troops outside the main government building in Tbilisi left 20 dead, the Georgian capital today braced itself for possible problems as the country's opposition staged its first major rally since the August war with Russia. Bloggers are posting from the ground.
Palestine: Twittering Gazan Mom Stranded at Cairo Airport Deported after 36 Hours
Her tweets have gone silent and her last message spoke of a deportation to somewhere other than home. Home is Gaza in Palestine, which Laila El-Haddad and her two American-born children Yousuf and Noor can't travel to, to be reunited with their grandparents except through the Rafah Crossing on the Egyptian-Palestinian border - which is closed. Egypt won't let them through; and El-Haddad's visa to the US, where she has flown in from to the Cairo Airport where she was stranded for 36 hours, had expired. Where is the Twittering Palestinian mother and what has happened to her and her children?
Bahamas: A Free Society?
“In a free country, identity and employment should not be linked. One should not be dependent on the other”: Nicolette Bethel warns that the Bahamas is going back to “plantation” values.
