· January, 2008

Stories about LANGUAGES from January, 2008

Angola: We CAN do it

  31 January 2008

“For the first time ever the Angolan national team made it to the quarters-finals of the African Cup of Nations (CAN)”. Jotacê Carranca [pt] is akready celebrating a possible victory.

Brazil: Social blogging against paedophilia

  31 January 2008

Luz de Luma [pt] is one of the core bloggers at the social blogging that will take place at the Lusosphere next February 14to debate paedophilia.  “When I proposed this social blogging and used the very term, I was systematically visited by computers from the federal police. This is a...

Brazil: World's street children in charges

  31 January 2008

The Iranian website Iran Cartoon began a virtual series on world's street children, featuring artists from dozen countries, such as Mongolia, France, Vietnam, Colombia, Brazil, China. Sérgio Coutinho [pt] will feature some of them among the images usually displayed at the right hand corner of his blog”.

Mozambique: More on the strange mass kidnapping

  31 January 2008

Moçambique para Todos [pt] picks up on Ivone Soares’ piece of news yesterday that a mass kidnapping had happened in Mocímboa da Praia.”It is all very odd and almost like a movie! Will the media report on the press conference? I have read about 10 newspapers today (January 30th) and...

Brazil: The first ever local cyberculture festival

  31 January 2008

Sérgio Amadeu [pt] on Guarulhos first ever digital festival. “With more than 500 papers published in a collaborative portal, developed entirely using open software, Guarulhos 2.Zero will give its awards at the end of February. You can visit the website and vote. It is cool to encourage the municipalities that...

Korea: Entertainers’ lives, media and internet

  31 January 2008

Na Hoon-a, a legendary singer in Korea famous for his charisma during his 40 year career and for numerous rumors about his personal life, surprised everyone at a press conference. He disappeared from public over a year ago, as rumors swelled that Na had his genitals cut off by a...

Bolivia: Place to Study in El Alto

  31 January 2008

Marisol Medina of Lengua, Cultura y Sociedad [es] celebrates that many more people, especially indigenous women who still dress in traditional clothing, can now have a place to study at the public university in El Alto, without having to worry about discrimination.

Hong Kong: Party Politics

  31 January 2008

Despite the fact that people are in general cynical about political party, legislator Tsang Yok Shing predicts that the 2017 timetable for universal suffrage will bring party politics to the peak (zh).

China: Internet Privacy

  31 January 2008

Vincent points out that many social networking sites have violated the protection of privacy. For example the fact that spokeo.com can track down hundreds of friends’ online activities via their email accounts is a form of surveillance, probably against the account holders’ will to be left alone.

The difference between Senegal and China

  31 January 2008

Blog politique au Senegal explains the difference between Senegal and China [Fr]: “Aside from the obvious differences like the color of their skin, the enormous disparity in the size of their populations, their respective demographic differences, I also know that there exists another fundamental difference…Us, we play football, we dream...

China: Hu Jia's family become human “state secrets”

  30 January 2008

And likely very skinny ones at this point, having been locked away from journalists and lawyers and bringers of milk formula for over a month now. Since AIDS activist-turned house arrested blogger Hu Jia's arrest, he's been described as a one-man human rights organization, that bloggers like him are the...

Mozambique: Police stops suspected children trafficking truck

  30 January 2008

Breaking the news in the blogosphere, Carlos Serra [pt] reports that the police in Inchope intercepted a truck with 40 children between the ages of 7 and 11 years from Nampula, Mozambique. It is believed that they were being trafficked. “Social and institutional vulnerabilities makes trafficking possible and extended. Several...

Louis Michel Heckled by Congolese Protestors at the London School of Economics

  30 January 2008

Le renouveau congolais posts a YouTube video which shows Louis Michel, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid and formerly Belgian's foreign minister, as he was confronted by Congolese protesters during a talk given earlier this month on the EU and Africa at the London School of Economics. Read the reactions from Congolese netizens and a video response that will make you move your feet.

Mozambique: A suspicious kidnapping

  30 January 2008

Ivone Soares has an incredible piece of local news: “On 23/01/2008, the citizen Momade Hamade was kidnapped by unknown people in Mocímboa da Praia. He was taken to a a camp where there were about twenty people from both sexes also as taken hostages. Six people among the criminals were...

Brazil: Amazon, deforestation and the future

  30 January 2008

“If you want to see what would happen to Amazon if deforestation does not come to a halt, you can see a simulation developed by the Institute of Environmental Research in the Amazon, the Federal University of Minas Gerais and The Woods Hole Research Center”. See the links at the...

Brazil: Veja magazine and the anti-journalism phenomenon

  30 January 2008

“The biggest anti-journalism phenomenon in recent years is what happened to Veja magazine. Gradually, the largest weekly Brazilian mag was turned into a lampoon with no commitment to journalism, using the lowest of the low attacks against those who crossed their path, getting involved in trade wars and accepting that...

Sustainable development: all talk, no action

  30 January 2008

In Madagascar, Blog d'hiver mocks the “incessant” seminars and colloquiums on sustainable development [Fr], which the blogger suggests “masks [industry's] fundamental difficulty to take action and change its practices.”

Senegal to hold local elections

  30 January 2008

Blog Politique au Senegal writes about local elections in Senegal [Fr], claiming that the dominant parties want to limit the number of political parties in the country and that no party is able to clearly enunciate their ideologies and plans.