Stories about Disaster from June, 2007
China: Victims of slave labour
Tan Weishan posted some photos of the victims of slave labour in Shanxi brick kiln, one of them lost his legs because of the supervisor abuse. He was dumped in the middle of the mountain in 2002. Eventhough he had won the court case and the brick kiln had to...
Russia: Beslan Evidence
A Step At A Time reports on the copies of faxes published by PravdaBeslana.ru, which “show that the local [North Ossetian] authorities were aware of preparations for a major terrorist attack involving the movement of convoys of vehicles, and targeting a public building, most probably a school, on “Knowledge Day”...
Arabeyes: How the Palestinians Defeated Themselves!
What is happening in Palestine? Why have the Palestinians turned against each other? What is fueling the conflict? Who is the victor and who is really being defeated? And what next? Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah sums up his feelings of disgust and attempts to answer these questions in the following...
Lebanon: Almost Non-Political Questions
What are we eating? Why are our banks flourishing? Who are those clearing cluster bombs? How will Brazil help in recycling Lebanese wastes? Where are some of the children who were caught in the crossfire? What about some music? These are some of the questions answered in this week’s selections from the Lebanese blogosphere.
China: Flood and Drought
Kenneth T from Shanghaiist reports on the extreme weather in China: worst drought in 30 years in North East China, floods in Central China and super hot in North West.
Bahrain: National Treasure Burnt
Bahrain's legendary Tree of Life was burnt by vandals, reports Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif.
Iran: Gonu's victims, Palestine's crisis, and a stoning suspended
About two weeks ago, Gonu, a tropical storm, hit Oman and the Sistan and Balouchestan province in Iran. Iranian bloggers report that victims in this impoverished province have not received enough government help, and that lots of people are deprived of food, water, and health care. They criticize the government's...
Barbados: Drilling for Oil
Twenty-five companies are in a bid to drill for oil off the coast of Barbados. Barbados Free Press puts forward its opinion about which firms should be disqualified based on their environmental records.
Sierra Leone: helicopter crasn and president exit speech
Latest news from Sierra Leone on Sweet Sierra Leone blog: Helicopter crash and President Kabbah exit speech.
China: Slave Labour
Bingfeng put together reports on the Shanxi slave labour scandal. Chong from interlocals translated an internet article on the power of internet to expose and rescue the forced labour.
Bangladesh: natural disaster and responsibilities of the bloggers
Last Monday rain-triggered mudslides buried dozens of hillside shanty homes in Chittagong killing at least 134 people. This is just another piece of tragic news that we read everyday. As a blogger how do you respond to it? Arild Klokkerhaug is an entrepreneur, blogger and the man behind the largest...
China: Where's the disaster relief blogging?
It's monsoon season in China, floods sweep through the south and hundreds of thousands are left homeless. Where's all the local blog coverage?
Oman: Post-Gonu Reflections
Life is slowly returning to normal in Muscat and the rest of Oman two weeks after the Sultanate was hit by deadly tropical Cyclone Gonu, which left about 50 people dead. Riyadh Al Balushi gives us a round up of how bloggers reacted to the disaster, relief efforts in Oman and lessons learned from the crisis.
Bahrain: Lebanese Appeal
An appeal has gone out for Bahrainis to dig deep in their pockets to help Palestinian refugees caught up in the crossfire in Lebanon, reports Haitham Sabbah, who is based in Bahrain.
Lebanon: Living Through Terror
This was yet another violent week here in Lebanon. In addition to the military action, taking place in the North between the Lebanese Army and the militants, and the almost regular explosions taking place around the country, this week was marred by another assassination, writes Moussa Bashir, who brings us the latest conversations from the Lebanese blogosphere.
Russia: Landslide in the Valley of Geysers
A detailed report, in Russian AND in English, with photos, on the June 3 landslide that damaged much of Kamchatka's Valley of Geysers – by LJ user spanishflyer (Andrei Leonov).
Trinidad & Tobago: Road Carnage
Now is Wow reprints a Letter to the Editor that she wrote out of concern about irresponsible driving practices on Trinidad and Tobago's roads, while Trinidad and Tobago News Blog agrees that the carnage on the streets is not normal.
Oman: Gonu Relief Blog
Gonu Relief Blog is another blog put by Omani bloggers to follow up on relief efforts, following the tropical cyclone Gonu, which hit Omani shores recently.
Oman: Sad About Gonu
Sad About Gonu is a new blog in town – which aims to aggregate information about the deadly tropical cyclone Gonu, which hit the shores of Oman. “It is very unfortunate that large international media organisations such as CNN and the BBC (!) have failed to provide the public with...
Kenya: Nairobi bomb explosion: God blinked
“If there is a god then the speck of dust on his eye that is Nairobi must have gotten too big. This morning he blinked. A product of the nineties, my fondest memories of my childhood include sneaking out of home to watch Bruce Lee and Jean-Claude van Damme movies...
Kenya: the double edged nature of personal media
Following the explosion in Nairobi today, Thinkers Room discusses the double edged of personal media: Today has just illustrated the double edged nature of pervasive communication like blogs, email and text messaging. There is no doubt that these platforms are powerful tools for communicating information. There is also no doubt...