Stories from 5 May 2009
Serbia: Smoking Ban
Another belated link to Belgraded.com: a post on “a gruesome threat called the smoking ban.”
Serbia: The Pope
Belatedly, a link to an explanation of why “the Serbian Orthodox Church, even though unable to stop the Stones, the AC/DC and Madonna, has some deciding power over the Pope Benedict XVI penetrating [Serbia's] borders” – at Belgraded.com.
Iran: Eccentric candidates of the presidential election
More than 1000 candidates have registered online to be considered for presidential candidacy in the Iranian elections in June. All candidates have five days from today to appear at the headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior. After the registration is complete, the powerful 12-member Guardian Council decides who will run.
Armenia: Opposition TV goes mobile
Unzipped welcomes the introduction of a new mobile phone news service by the banned A1 Plus pro-opposition TV station in Armenia. The blog says that once again modern technology is breaking state-imposed censorship.
Iran: “Prisoner of Colours” is Executed
On Friday morning, Iranian authorities executed Delara Darabi, a 23 year-old woman, who was convicted for a murder at the age of 17 and held at the Rasht Central Prison for several years. Delara had earned notoriety as “the prisoner of colours” for her haunting paintings of prison life that were admired by many.
Morocco: Taking Care of Animals
The American Fondouk is an animal hospital in Fez, Morocco that was founded in the 1920s and is funded through the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA). The hospital, which provides care for animals large and small, is staffed primarily by Moroccan veterinarians and staff members, however, it recently came up in the blogosphere due to the blogging efforts of a visiting veterinarian, Dr. Dan Biros of Boston. Dr. Biros, who specializes in opthamology for animals, has been chronicling his work at the Fondouk in an official blog.
Sri Lanka: The Dilemma Of A Moderate View
In a deeply divided country like Sri Lanka it is hard to keep a moderate view and find a common ground. Serendipity writes: “To a Tamil, I am branded as a Sinhala chauvinist, and to a Sinhala person I am branded as an LTTE sympathizer, so therein lies the problem...
Pakistan: The Army Operation In Buner
Teeth Maestro reports about the Pakistan army operations against the Talibans in Buner that “the military is targeting the civilian population instead of hideout of the militants which resulted the casualties more than 100.”
Nepal: The Maoist Plan To Capture State and The National Army
United We Blog! for a Democratic Nepal highlights an YouTube video which shows that in a speech on January 2, 2008, two months before the general election in Nepal, “Prachanda talked about how the Maoist leadership had inflated the numbers of the PLA soldiers by almost five-fold and how the...
Trinidad & Tobago: Waiting for Obama
KnowProSE.com, on hearing news that President Obama may come back to Trinidad and Tobago, asks: “Why? Personally, I'd like to see him come down more frequently if only to make the local politicians raise their ‘bottom-of-the-well’ state of play”; Coffeeeallah adds: “There are other interesting people out there you know.”
Anguilla: Legislation Needed
Corruption-free Anguilla says: “Just passing a law does not achieve much. We need integrity legislation in Anguilla.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Beautiful Boys
“I find myself tiptoeing around dying poui blossoms. They remind me too much of all that we have lost here. In the poui time that is also the killing time. Regardless of the season, regardless of new crime plan…we continue to gorge ourselves on the blood of our children”: Attillah...
India: TwitterCamp
Kiruba Shankar reports that preparations are going on for TwitterCamp, a one day unconference of Micro-blogging which is scheduled to be held in Chennai, India on 21st of June, 2009.
Bermuda: Enough?
Vexed Bermoothes thinks that “Bermuda has a long history, and a rapidly growing Government, but our culture of good governance may not be keeping up.”
Indonesia: Graft Buster Chief Nabbed For Murder
Antasari Azhar, Indonesia's Anti-Corruption Commission chief, was arrested for masterminding a murder of Nasrudin Zulkarnaen, a pharmaceutical boss. Many Indonesian bloggers believe that Antasari is being framed
China: Challenged in Latin America?
A statement last week by American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton regarding China and Iran's presence in Latin America made headlines; Angry Chinese Blogger expands on her short statement in ‘Latin America: The next Sino-US Battleground?’.
China: Quarantine measures crucial
With Mexicans, Canadians and now Americans in quarantine in China, anonymous Awakening China blogger takes on the perception that Chinese health authorities have gone overboard in attempting to keep H1N1 from entering the country; numbers but no links are given to illustrate majority online sentiment regarding the measures taken.
China: Han Han to launch magazine
Anonymous Uln at CHINAYOUREN takes Han Han's announcement of his plans to launch his own magazine, also yet still unnamed, as a chance to look more closely at the man behind the name, one of China's most-read bloggers.
China: Shanzhai Adidas trash dumpster
Adam J. Schokora at 56 minus 1 shares a recent photo of a shanzhai Adidas trash dumpster.
China: Foreign reporters of the May Fourth Movement
China Rhyming blogger Paul French marked the ninetieth anniversary of the May Fourth Movement with an introduction of several foreigners who reported on the mass demonstrations at the time.
Armenia: Tensions rise ahead of municipal vote
The Caucasian Knot, the blog of Global Voices Online's Caucasus editor, carries a report on yesterday's pre-election campaign by the extra-parliamentary opposition. The blog includes video originally streamed live from the scene of a brief clash between police and opposition supporters. Unzipped also posts the video while Tzitzernak2 says that...
