10 February 2012

Stories from 10 February 2012

Cuba: Prisoner of 18 Years Released

  10 February 2012

“After almost 18 years as a captive in the Castro gulag, Rafael Ibarra Roque on Thursday was released from jail“: Uncommon Sense says that “his release represents a victory for Ibarra, his family and the Cuban opposition.”

Jamaica: Journalist “Mutty” Perkins Dies

  10 February 2012

Girl With a Purpose mourns the death of controversial Jamaican journalist and radio talk show host, Wilmott ‘Mutty’ Perkins, who passed away this morning, saying: “We hope, ‘Mutty’, that Jamaicans will truly be free to understand that Jamaica is for Jamaicans and those who love her and not for those...

Barbados: “Insultingly Low” Sentence

  10 February 2012

Barbados Free Press publishes a letter from a reader, expressing outrage at the minimun sentence for a man that claimed self-defense in his ex-girlfriend's murder: “At the same time we are all discussing Raul Garcia who got 15 years for his offense. So if this murderer had weed in his...

Jamaica: Go Easy on the Guns

  10 February 2012

The United States is sending “a donation that comes with a message” to Jamaica, supplying the island's police force with “batons, handcuffs, pepper sprays and equipment belts for approximately 6,500 frontline officers” – which prompts Jamaica Salt to ask: “With a culture of impunity within the police…and in a country...

Trinidad & Tobago: Implementation Key in DNA Bill

  10 February 2012

The TnT River says of the amended DNA Bill, which was recently passed “after a 14 hour sitting of the Senate”: “It is a positive step in the right direction, but this action definitely needs proper planning and stringent execution for continued success.”

France: How Are PACS and Marriage Different?

  10 February 2012

Pierre Vicari [fr] had this to say about the results of a survey [fr] which appeared on the site Lefigaro.fr, “To the ignoramuses who say that PACS and marriage are the same thing: No! A PACS does not provide any of the same rights as marriage! In addition, you intolerant people who do not...

France: A Drone Campaigning… for President

  10 February 2012

Dédé l'Abeillaud (another name for a drone – a male bee in a colony of social bees, which inspires his costume) is the self-proclaimed candidate of biodiversity for the French presidential election of 2012. He boasts of winning over 300 promised votes for local officials, as much as the National...

Macedonia: Coping With Ice and Snow in Skopje

  10 February 2012

GV Author Filip Stojanovski posts pictures of Skopje's snowy and icy streets and reports on his blog: “[…] the pavements and the side streets in the municipality of Centar remain icy. Some are covered by layers of ice or re-frozen slush, by old frozen snow, or an unevenly hardened mash...

South Korea: American Missionary Sue North Korea for Sexual Torture

  10 February 2012

Robert Park, a Korean-American missionary and human rights activist who went to North Korea on 2009, sued North Korea for sexual torture. Park crossed into the country in protest of North Korea's human rights atrocity. However, as Marmot's Hole blogger wrote, the new has drawn some cynical reactions.