Global Voices · Citizen media stories from 2009 October 21

21 October 2009

Daily archive · 7 posts

Stories from 21 October 2009

Brazil: The challenge of hosting a worthwhile Olympic Games

Written by Thiana Biondo · Latin America

Brazilians highlight the problems that the country will have to deal with before the 2016 Olympic Games with wry humor, hoping that organizers will learn from the mistakes made during the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio.

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Namibia: Introducing Namibia election bloggers

Written by Ndesanjo Macha · Sub-Saharan Africa

Namibia will hold presidential and national assembly elections on 27 and 28 November 2009. A number of Namibian journalists will use blogs to report and monitor the elections. We are introducing these new election bloggers to you.

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Inheritance tax and children in limbo: adoption in Japan.

Written by Matt Holland · East Asia

Adoption in Japan is a statistically under-represented, multi-dimensional issue. Young families seeking children, inheritance tax-evading grandchild adoptions, conservative opposition to confusing family blood-lines, and loosely regulated groups illegally netting profit from international adoptions out of Japan.

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USA: Interracial couple denied marriage license

Written by Jillian C. York · North America

Last week, in Hammond, Louisiana, a couple applied for a marriage license and were refused on the basis of their different races. The justice of the peace claimed that "interracial marriages do not last long" and stated that he was "doing it for the children."

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Guinea: In the aftermath of a massacre

Written by Abdoulaye Bah · Sub-Saharan Africa

Amid widespread international condemnation of Guinea's military regime, the United Nations announced Friday it would launch a formal investigation into the September 28th massacre of opposition protestors in Conakry. Meanwhile, Guinean netizens continue trying to process and assess the meaning of the tragedy.

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Malaysia: State government introduces ‘1Toilet' policy

Written by Syafique Shuib · East Asia

Borrowing the branding of 1Malaysia, the state government of Terengganu recently introduces the ‘1Toilet' policy as a move for both teachers and students to share toilets to promote a sense of oneness. There were mixed reactions from the blogosphere regarding this topic

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Indonesia: The President's second term

Written by Carolina Rumuat · East Asia

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia took his oath marking his second term as head of state of the world's most populous Muslim country. Bloggers, twitterers, and plurkers share their reactions to this event

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Updates from 21 October 2009

Russia

Profy reports on Amazon Kindle's “international expansion”: “This decision is obviously good at least because I personally don’t like any limitations and opening yet another window to the huge Russian market is hopefully a wise decision for Amazon. […] At the same time I myself suspect that the vast majority of the population of Russia has no idea what Kindle is at all and have never heard the name. What’s even worse, I have strong doubts that there are enough people here who would want to read their books or magazines electronically - let alone English-language titles.”

• Veronica Khokhlova

Russia

Foreign Policy's Passport reports on a lawsuit brought against Novaya Gazeta by Josef Stalin's grandson, Yevgeny Dzhugashvili.

• Veronica Khokhlova

Russia

Siberian Light writes about the 3rd Russian Film Festival, which begins on Oct. 30 in London.

• Veronica Khokhlova

Morocco

Solidarité Maroc [Fr], an online forum regrouping some Moroccan human rights activist, publishes an appeal (video) by French national Jean François Debargue who's on hunger strike in solidarity with Sahrawis whom he says are living in “dire conditions” in Western Sahara - a territory administered by Morocco and contested by the separatist Polisario Front, which is supported by neighbouring Algeria.

• Hisham Almiraat

Pakistan

“The trend of moulding religion to suit one’s needs instead of amending ones own behavior to suit the needs of religion is a symptom prevalent even amongst the so called liberal and educated classes of our country,” comments Pakistani blogger Tayyab at Deadpan Thoughts.

• Rezwan

Bhutan

I am Drukpa brings to our notice “the rising insane and inhuman prices” of freely available smuggled cigarettes in Bhutan because of a outright tobacco ban in the country. The blogger advocates for “ban-free legalized tobacco that is reasonably taxed and regulated”.

• Rezwan

India

“The Campaign for Open Minds is one of the many efforts to end homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in India and was created in response to the alarming surge in attempts at conversion therapy and other negative reactions to increased visibility of LGBT people, following Delhi High Court’s historic July 2 2009 decision decriminalizing homosexuality,” informs L. Ramakrishnan from Chennai.

• Rezwan