Stories about English from November, 2010
Additional Context on the Recent Political Arrests in Madagascar
Blogger Alain Rajaonarivony writes at length about the implications of the recent series of political arrests in Madagascar (fr). A close relative to Raymond Ranjeva and his daughter describes the circumstances of their arrest. Here is a petition to denounce the arbitrary arrests (fr).
China: Censorship instruction November 22-28
China Digital Times has collected and translated a number of censorship instructions issued by the Propaganda department to media outlets from November 22-28 2010.
Brand China
Imagethief blogs the discussion on “brand China” at the Capital-M Trialogue. The discussion panel addressed issues related to the ability of the Chinese companies to establish their brands internationally, and Chinese soft power and international perceptions of China as a whole.
Philippines: #dearlottowinner hashtag
Twitter users in the Philippines are using the hashtag #dearlottowinner to greet and send suggestions to the lone grand lotto winner who stands to receive $US15 million, the biggest jackpot prize in Philippine gaming history.
Australia Waking to Cancún
In the lead up to Cancún (the COP16 meeting of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol) online discussion in Australia has finally spiked. Here are sample blog reactions
Cambodia: Lessons from the Water Festival stampede
Cambodians are still mourning the death of 347 people in the stampede tragedy which happened last week at Koh Pich Bridge in Phnom Penh. Cambodian netizens share their reactions and recommendations on how to improve disaster management in the country
Latin America: Summary of Several Leaked Documents on the Region
Erwin from The Latin Americanist summarizes some findings about U.S relations with Honduras, Venezuela, Argentina, Colombia, and Panama from the diplomatic documents recently released by Wikileaks.
El Salvador: New Law Targets Violence Against Women
“On Thursday, November 25, El Salvador's National Assembly unanimously passed the Law for A Life Free From Violence for Women. For the first time, the law creates a separate crime of femicide for the murder of a woman on account of her gender. The law also imposes stiffer penalties on...
Philippines: Student unrest over education budget cuts
Students from various public universities in the Philippines held massive protest actions against the budget cuts imposed by the government. Students documented the 'campus strikes' by using the internet.
South Asia: The Morality Of Exposing Others’ Secrets
WikiLeaks, an international non-profit media organization has created waves around the world by publishing 251,287 confidential documents, which detail correspondence between the U.S. State Department and U.S. embassies around the world. Some South Asian bloggers were quick to publish their opinions on this issue.
Jordan: Wikileaks’ “Cablegate” Raises Questions
The recent Wikileaks release, known as "Cablegate," featured several quotations from Jordanian officials, as well as large numbers of cables from the U.S. Embassy in Amman. Jordanian tweeters had varied initial reactions to the latest leak from the whistle-blower site.
Middle East: The Not-So-Secret US Embassy Secret Cables
While mainstream media across the Arab world gave the secret US Embassy cables released yesterday the cold shoulder, bloggers and Twitter users from the Middle East found much needed material to chew on.
Morocco: Danish journalist deported for Western Sahara fishing story
A Danish journalist who did a radio story on the European Union paying Morocco for fish from Western Sahara was deported from Morocco two days after arriving. His computer hard drive and SIM card were confiscated.
U.S.V.I.: Stalwart Passes On
News of St. John is saddened by the death of Ruth ‘Sis’ Frank, “a stalwart of the island's community.”
Bahamas: Power & Race
“There is a core lack of confidence in the ability—or is it the right?—of Bahamians to take control of our own destiny”: Blogworld considers the merit of a thesis “on Blackness & The Presumptions of Ultimate Power.”
Haiti: Election Results?
“So the big election day in Haiti happened. However, the whole process seemed horribly dysfunctional to me. How many voters were left out just due to logistics? And what about fraud and intimidation?”: Dying in Haiti is convinced that “the results of the election, whenever they will be determined, will...
Barbados: Independence Celebrations
Tomorrow will be Barbados’ 44th anniversary of Independence – My Barbados Blog reports.
Bermuda: Wikileaks Fallout
Vexed Bermoothes thinks that the fallout from the latest Wikileaks revelations “will be deep and broad”, adding: “Interestingly, 68 of the cables mention Bermuda…one can assume that at least some of these relate to Dr. Brown’s Uighur follies.”
Nigeria: Now a “Middle Income” Country
Solomonsydelle reports that Nigeria has joined Brazil, South Africa, and 100 other countries in a category the World Bank refers to as “Middle Income.” She expresses her gratification that the nation has left the label “low income” behind, but wonders, “does this classification really mean anything?”
Zimbabwe: Peaceful March to Mark International Women Human Rights Defenders Day
Approximately 900 members of Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise marked International Women Human Rights Defenders Day with a peaceful procession to the offices of the state-owned Chronicle newspaper in Bulawayo.
Africa: The Black Dutchmen of Indonesia
Do you know the Black Dutchmen of Indonesia?: “The Black Dutchmen are the desendents of 3,000 West African men who were sent by the Dutch colonialist to fight in their colonial war in Indonesia. Black men forced to the other side of the world to fight a white man’s war...
