Global Voices · Citizen media stories from 2009 September 04

4 September 2009

Daily archive · 7 posts

Stories from 4 September 2009

Morocco: Teaching “Berber” in Schools

Written by Jillian C. York · Middle East & North Africa

A BBC News piece on the teaching of "Berber" languages in Morocco has got the blogoma talking. The article, which outlines the educational options for learning and studying the language, prompted a variety of posts. Jillian C. York has the story.

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France: Secularity, Required for Democracy and Human Rights

Written by Suzanne Lehn · Western Europe, North America

The French concept of the secular seems so distinctive that even the English-language Wikipedia's entry on the issue uses the French term, laïcité, worded in French, to describe it. Suzanne Lehn explains the very different ways bloggers in the US and France view the separation of church and state.

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A Guide to Blogging about Life with HIV/AIDS

Written by Rezwan · Sub-Saharan Africa, North America

In recognition of the hundreds of HIV-positive bloggers chronicling their lives worldwide, a group of online activists affiliated with Rising Voices have created a new guide to blogging about HIV/AIDS.

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Azerbaijan: Detained video bloggers go on trial

Written by Onnik Krikorian · Central Asia & Caucasus

Despite significant international outcry from leading human rights and freedom of expression advocates, detained video blogger youth activists Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli today went on trial in Azerbaijan. Supporters live tweeted proceedings.

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South Africa: Taxis Defiant of New Bus System for World Cup

Written by Ismail Dhorat · Sub-Saharan Africa

A new public transit bus system launched in time for the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa is being met with vociferous protests from drivers of taxis (mini busses). South African bloggers discuss.

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Oman: Random Internet Censorship

Written by Riyadh Al Balushi · Middle East & North Africa

From Oman, Riyadh Al Balushi updates us on what he describes as 'random Internet censorship' in this post.

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China and Japan: Chinese people's reaction to the Japanese general election

Written by Winglok Hung · East Asia

The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) won the August 30th general election by landslide victory, bringing an end to more than 50 years of almost continuous rule by the Liberal...

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Updates from 4 September 2009

Bulgaria

Petya of How to Marry a Bulgarian writes about racism in Bulgaria and follows up with a post on the Busmantsi detention center for “illegal immigrants or people whose application for refugee status was rejected and are waiting to be deported” - described by some as “the Bulgarian Guantanamo.”

• Veronica Khokhlova

Morocco

American expat blogger 760 Days in Morocco explains her motives for wearing hijab, in this post.

• Jillian C. York

Pakistan

Pakistan Ka Khuda Hafiz informs quoting sources within the Pakistan Navy that: “certain high-ranking individuals within the Naval forces are involved in secret construction of operational facilities in Gharo, Sindh, which are intended to serve as a base for around 200 US marines.”

• Rezwan

India

Amit Varma at India Uncut reacts to the news that 14 people died in different parts of Andhra Pradesh hearing about the death of Chief Minister of the state YSR Reddy. The blogger comments: “It’s quite possible that many of these deaths, if not all, randomly happened around that time, and YSR’s people are building this narrative around them to embellish his legend.”

• Rezwan

Bahamas

News breaks that the Bahamian Prime Minister may be considering forming a federation between the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, prompting blogger Sidney Sweeting to comment: “Please note that our PM is responding to a suggestion made by the ex-Premier of Turks and Caicos who was forced to resign because of allegations of corruption, resulting in Britain suspending their constitution for two years.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Bahamas

As Customs Officers threaten to demonstrate over attempts to deal with alleged corruption within their ranks, Rick Lowe at Weblog Bahamas says: “We have so far to go.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad & Tobago

Trin wonders whether an approach like Florida's 10-20-Life Program, which proposed the toughest gun-crime law in the U.S., could work as a viable part of Trinidad and Tobago's crime plan.

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Cuba

Writing for Havana Times, Circles Robinson reports that U.S. President Obama has finally signed the order allowing Cuban-Americans to travel to Cuba and send money more easily to family members - but adds: “Nonetheless, the Obama administration maintains the nearly 50-year economic blockade on Cuba that has greatly hurt the island’s economy.”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaica

“The Caribbean is, according to Rex Nettleford, the ideal model of what the world is trying to achieve through globalisation: different people and cultures and races melted into one big pot, sharing the same geographical space” - but to Jamaican blogger Ruthibelle, “it seems…that this quest for one region, for one world - is accompanied by a great evil: the crucifixion of our human/national individualities…”

• Janine Mendes-Franco

Palestine

Palestinian journalist Daoud Kuttab writes on his blog about receiving a phone call from Prime Minister Salam Fayyad: “In nearly 29 years of my journalist work and the thousands of articles I had written on behalf of Palestine and Palestinian issues, never had any senior Palestinian official ever called me or contacted me.”

• Ayesha Saldanha