Stories from 22 March 2013
Shedding Light on Macedonia's “Black Monday”
In order to shed light on the events of Dec. 24, 2012, when journalists and opposition MPs were thrown out of the Macedonian Parliament [en, es, mk], Foundation Open Society Institute Macedonia (@fosim) published a study entitled “Black Monday” [.pdf: en, mk, sq], with testimonies of witnesses and participants and...
Cries of Censorship as Brazilian Satire Blog Ordered Shut Down
A Brazilian court has ruled that satirical blog Falha São Paulo must remain shut down because its name is too similar to the newspaper it mocks, a move that critics decry as a dangerous legal precedent for freedom of expression.
Russian Nationalists Rally Behind Subway Shooter
After all, how can one not react with outrage upon learning that Alexandra Lotkova, a pretty, twenty-one year old college student, got three years in prison for using a non-lethal gun to protect herself from knife-wielding thugs, who had already stabbed one of her friends!
Vietnam Police Question Activist Over Article
According to a Radio Free Asia report written by Y. Lan and Rachel Vandenbrink, Vietnamese activist Le Cong Cau of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam was accused by the police of spreading subversive propaganda in connection to an article he wrote espousing political pluralism.
Travel Blogging in Vietnam
Pham Hoang Mien is disappointed that only few Vietnamese bloggers are writing about the country's tourism potential. She notes that most of the travel bloggers writing about Vietnam are either expats or international tourists. She wants local netizens to blog more about tourism.
Analysis: North Korea Behind Hack Attack?
A cyber attack hit South Korea's major broadcaster and bank websites. North Korea Tech blog tells more on the attack pattern and the possibility of North Korea's involvement.
Hardline Buddhists Drive Sri Lanka to Drop Muslim Halal Labeling
Religious tensions in Sri Lanka are on the rise after Islamic clerics facing massive protests from militant Buddhists put an end to the island's widespread halal food labeling system.
A Peek Into Uzbek Pop Music Scene
Uzbek Music Friday is a (rare) feature in which I post a pop music video from an artist in Uzbekistan. It could be catchy, annoying, funny, insightful, brilliant, awful, or anything in between. It’s what’s playing on the radio, what all the cool kids are listening to these days... [It] gives you a glimpse into how pop music is done on this side of the world.
Kazakhstan's ‘Moribund Opposition’
For anybody that has ever wondered whether Kazakhstan even has a political opposition, the answer is that it does, but not a very useful one.
