Stories about LANGUAGES from May, 2007
Japan: “Thought Check” Screening for Citizen Judges
While news in Japan this week has been understandably fixated on the sensational suicide of Agriculture Minister Matsuoka Toshikatsu, another story revealed in a blog entry by Diet member Hosaka Nobuto slipped by with little fanfare last weekend. In the post, Hosaka outlines the latest step in moves by the government to implement a "citizen judge system" in Japan. This step, he claims, would allow the prosecution to effectively disqualify, through a "thought check" screening process, all citizens judge candidates who express doubt about the trustworthiness of police investigations.
Brazilian Express Loves (and jealousy) around the world
The Brazilian blogosphere entered in alert a few weeks ago when the major publish house Companhia das Letras (PT) announced a huge literary project. Idealized by Rodrigo Teixeira, the project called Express Loves (Amores Expressos) wants to take 16 writers to 16 cities around the world for a one month trip. Shanghai, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Lisbon, Berlin, Cairo, Saint Petersburg and São Paulo are some among those chosen cities. At the end, each one of them must write a love history tied with those cities. All in 90 days.
Lotto Fever strikes BIG in Japan
People across Japan turned out in large numbers last week to line up and get their hands on tickets for “BIG”, a variation on the soccer lottery “toto” operated by...
Brazil: New Round on the National Internet Policy Debate
There are not many issues in Brazil where you are able to find unanimity. But when you talk about messing with Internet freedoms, the defenders spring up from radically different...
Turkey: Plans to Attack Kurds
Turkish blogger Murat Altinbasak links to a news article which discusses Tuesday's deadly rush hour bombing at an Ankara shopping district in which at least six people died and more...
Japan: Listen to the voices of the Tokyo fire bombing victims
112 people, including the victims and their families of the 1945 Tokyo fire bombing, are suing the Japanese goverment for an official apology and 1.2 billion yen compensation. On March...
Japan: Bridging the Generation Gap
What with all the news last week of beheadings, shoot-outs and baby dumping — and subsequent soul-searching on the part of Japanese bloggers, at a loss for what to make...
East Timor: Reflections on the Presidential elections
Timor Online brings up Max Lane‘s reflections on the latest Presidential elections (also in Portuguese), which circulated through ETAN's East Timor list, and “are the result of conversations over the...
Japan: Mail from Henoko
dr.stonefly reprints an email sent by an activist in Henoko, urging the readers to take direct action in the protest against the marine survey. The email describes a fierce collision...
Which father is my real father?: Japan's 300-day rule
In early May, the Japanese government announced that it will take a special measure to recognise children born within 300 days of their mother's divorce, given that the mothers became...
Beheadings, Shoot-outs and Baby Dumping: Where is Japan heading?
News stories covered this week by the mainstream news media in Japan have shaken Japanese society, with many wondering where their country is heading and what has happened to the...
Brazil: The Once and Future(?) King
There are two kings in Brazil. Pelé, the world famous football star, and Roberto Carlos, a great icon of Brazilian popular music (MPB). The singer and songwriter acquired fame as the main figure of the 60’s musical movement known as Jovem Guarda — Young Guard — in opposition to the ‘old guard’ of Brazilian music. But late last year, the launch of an unauthorized biography has made this King go to war. Confirming the Brazilian saying that “once King, you’ll never loose the majesty”, Roberto Carlos has recently succeeded in a legal settlement with the writer — historian Paulo César de Araújo — and his publisher where all the unsold books will be called back to him, and the book will never again be published. But then… there is the Internet.
Kurdistance: The Honor Killing of Dua
This may seem like old news....but it isn't. Even though the tragic honor killing of a young girl in Northern Iraq/Southern Kurdistan took place in early April, sometimes the meaning of these sad stories take a while to surface. There are conflicting reports about how 17-year-old Dua died, some say that she was lynched, some stoned to death, others say both. What we do know was that Dua was a young girl in love, who left her Yezidi faith to live her life with a man that she loved. She was brave and idealistic; and she died horribly because of it. A mob of Yezidi men dragged her into the street, tore her clothes to shame her, and then the mob killed her...the final blow being a large rock taken to her head. And someone filmed this horror, which is floating around the internet somewhere if you truly wish to see it. What is important, is that this tragedy not only is sad in the individual sense of this girl's death, it is also sad in what it signifies for a culture and society eager to change, but unable to, as the Kurdish bloggers point out.
East Timor: José Ramos Horta Wins The Second Round
The Moderate Voice announces José Ramos Horta's victory in East Timor's presidential elections and sees the process as an example the US should follow in Iraq. From the other side,...
Talking to Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp
The Jamaican writer Geoffrey Philp has published five books of poems, a collection of short stories called Uncle Obadiah and the Alien, and a novel, Benjamin, My Son. He lives...
Japan: Japanese 30-somethings not happy
shigeto2004 refers to and gives an analysis on the result of an online survey conducted by Japanese newspaper Yomiuri on workers in their 30s. This entry is followed by an...
Japan's Pacifist Constitution, 60 Years Later
Early last week on May 3rd, amid widespread debate and discussion on the topic, Japan celebrated the 60th anniversary of its constitution. The anniversary comes at a time when Japanese...
Civil movements in Japan and Korea
kenzo , an architect actively involved in an anti-gentrification movement in the Shimokitazawa area of Tokyo, talks about his recent experience of receiving a group of enthusiastic urban planning students...
Brazil: The Pope is Here – What Now?
Brazil, the world's biggest Catholic nation, is now entering the global media stage surrounding the Pope's visit. The previous visits of John Paul II have left profound impressions here, and although Benedict XVI obviously lacks the friendly compassionate mood that easily enraptures the Brazilian soul, the church and the media are working hard to nurture the numinous qualities around the new Pope's tour. The question is: will Benedict succeed in his attempt to push forward his agenda for Latin America? Bloggers comment...
Japan: Self-Defense Forces to be Deployed to Henoko, Local Blogger Issues a Plea
On the evening of May 9, Japanese broadcaster Nippon TV broke the news that the Japanese government is planning to send the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to put down protests in Henoko Bay, Okinawa. Local protesters have responded in shock to this move. One local blogger describes the move as an attempt to legitimize the role of the SDF as a national military.
Japan: “Battle in Henoko”: Self-Defense Forces sent to Henoko to suppress protesters
GVO previously reported about a protest against the construction of a new heliport in Henoko Bay, Okinawa last week. Blogger dr-stonefly quotes news broadcast on Nippon TV that the Japanese...
