Stories about English from May, 2010
Macedonia: Silly Songs Do Politics
The anthem published by the youth branch of the Socialist Party of Macedonia on YouTube was talk of the town on social networks and beyond as part of ridiculous advertising songs trend.
Jamaica: Mapping the state of emergency
Citiizen media initiative On The Ground News Reports creates a Google maps-based “situation map” to record incidents related to the state of emergency in Jamaica.
Georgia: Election reporting in ethnic Azeri region
Writing on Eyes on Georgia, and also tweeting at @AliResh, Azerbaijani journalism student Resh Ali posts a brief account of voting in a largely ethnic Azeri-populated region of Georgia in today's local elections. While noting some improvements, the blog says that there are problems with the vote and shortcomings in...
Pakistan: Culture Of Intolerance
Raza Rumee at Pak Tea House discusses about the recent attacks on Ahmadi community in Pakistan and what signs it gives.
Bangladesh: The Reason For The Facebook Ban
Shada Kalo discusses about the recent ban on Facebook in Bangladesh – and how it gave a kid a ton of publicity.
Russia: Bloggers Cover Moscow Gay Pride Parade
LJ-user Zyalt published [RUS] pictures from Moscow gay pride parade [EN] that took place despite it the ban by Moscow authorities. The event organizers had to change its location several times. Other pictures of the parade, which was just a few minutes long, can be found here, here and here.
Russian “Little Blue Buckets” Movement Reaches Ukraine
Ukraine-based feminist organization “FEMEN” [EN] conducted an action [ENG] in support of the Russian online movement “Little Blue Buckets” [ENG] and against the “unification of Russia and Ukraine under Kremlin patronage.” Activists with their breasts painted in blue tried to rally near the building of the Russian embassy in Kiev,...
Georgia: Online local election mapping
Transparency International Georgia, the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, the Georgian Young Lawyers Association, the National Democratic Institute and the Caucasus Resource Research Center have set up an online mapping system for monitoring today's local election in the former Soviet republic. The vote is considered particularly important as...
Slovakia: The Fight for Nationalistic Voters
Tibor Blazko writes about the growing nationalistic sentiments driven by some Slovak and Hungarian politicians and translates a related satirical video.
Japan: Monozukuri for the Modern Age
The Japanese counterpart of Make Magazine, an American quarterly magazine for DIY enthusiasts, organizes a regular event in Tokyo called Make Tokyo Meeting (MTM). The fifth MTM, held at the Tokyo Institute of Technology on May 22-23, was the largest yet, featuring everything from bicycle wheels with LED lights, to complex wooden ball machines, to mechanical robot birds. Check out reports on the event on blogs, Twitter and YouTube.
Bangladesh: Facebook Temporarily Blocked
Bangladesh has become the second country in Asia after Pakistan to block the entire Facebook domain. Bangladeshi bloggers are expressing their astonishment, anger and protest against this ban.
Zimbabwe: Is it a crime to be white in Zimbabwe?
Chris Kabwato discusses the question of race in Zimbabwe's politics: “In Zimbabwe there is a person who cannot be sworn in as a minister of state, not because of any crime he committed, but he is simply the wrong colour. He is white.”
Ghana: Ghana National Media Commission has failed
Donald argues that Ghana National Media Commission has failed to do its work: “Is the Natonal Media Commission really doing their work for real?”
Africa: A blog to promote African literature
ImageNation is a blog by Ghanaian blogger Nana Fredua-Agyeman promoting literature in Africa.
South Africa: Rugby Playing Its Part in Transformation
Sport is still largely split along racial lines in South Africa. Football is considered a non-white sport and rugby is considered by many to be a game played by white South Africans. There have been many attempts at transforming these attitudes, but this year’s rugby Super 14 has proved to be the most significant step in nation building.
Nigeria: Exclusive interview with Nigerian soul artist
KenyaChristian blog has an exclusive interview with Nigerian soul artist Nneka Egbuna.
Oil spill disaster in Singapore
A ship collision in Singapore Strait caused the spilling of 2,000 tonnes of crude oil into the sea. Singapore netizens are using the web to monitor and document the marine disaster and to call for volunteers in the cleanup drive.
Philippines: Destroying another landmark
Torn and Frayed in Manila blogs about the impending destruction of another historical landmark in Manila – Sta Ana Racetrack.
Vietnam: Eating “Op la” in Saigon
Eating Asia blogs about Saigon's op la dish (fried eggs cooked with various sausages).
Vietnam: Report on online censorship
Viet Tan has published a comprehensive report about online censorship and cyberattacks in Vietnam.
India: Video Giving A Voice To Marginalised Communities
IndiaUnheard is a new initiative involving a network of Community Correspondents around India who will produce video stories about life in their community, and the issues ignored by mainstream media.
