Global Voices Digest for May 7th, 2008
Georgia: War with Russia?
The South Caucasus has always been a volatile and unstable region riven by ethnic conflict and instability. This is definitely the case in Georgia where tensions with Russia have increased to the extent that Reuters reports that the battle of words between Tbilisi and Moscow might yet turn into war over the breakaway and defacto independent [Georgian] region of Abkhazia.
Japan: Death Penalty Broadcast, 53 Years Later
An audio tape recorded 53 years ago of a death penalty execution in Japan, aired by Nippon Cultural Broadcasting on May 6th and and by Asahi television’s Super Morning show on April 29th, has triggered conversations among bloggers about the country’s death penalty system. The 50-minute audio footage, which features the last moments of one unnamed death row inmate, is the first of its kind to have ever been released.
Russia: Putin Out, Medvedev In
On Wednesday, Dmitry Medvedev became Russia’s third post-Soviet president. Bloggers discuss the outgoing president’s legacy, the political situation in Russia, and the traffic situation in Moscow on the day of Medvedev’s inauguration.
Iraq: Stop the massacre in Sadr City…
… so says Al-Ghad. In the weeks following the high profile attack on Basra by the Iraqi army and its high profile failure something of a low-level war has been going on across Iraq much behind the scenes of the mainstream media. Yet now the situation seems to be coming to a head.
Today on Voices Without Votes- Global: Obama Closes the Deal?
They call it a “big step.” That’s what Barack Obama took Tuesday when he won the North Carolina Democratic Primary hands down and was narrowly defeated in Indiana by Senator Hillary Clinton. John Liebhardt brings us the reactions of bloggers around the world commenting early on the two primaries, who say that the show for the Democratic race is nearly over.
Roundups
Get the blog buzz from the world over in the Global Roundups, where today you can find playing the homophobic card in Azerbaijan, the river Ganga remains dirty, avoiding the political discussions in Cambodia, and much much more!