Stories about Youth from December, 2007
Afghanistan: From Bhutto to Christmas, Child Marriage to the Plight of Women
Joshua Foust briefly considers the murder of Benazir Bhutto, then looks at what else is affecting the country—notably, the growing problem of child sexual exploitation.
Philippines: Sweet Treat
Eating Asia has a pictorial post on how people in rural Philippines work out a sweet treat with a stick and a can of molasses.
Brazil: OLPC After First Round of Bidding
OLPC News provides information on the status of bidding for the purchase of 150,000 laptops for children in Brazil and also links to an interview with David Cavallo, OLPC representative in that country.
Sudan: The Aftermath of the Teddy Bear Circus
Not surprisingly, about a month ago the Sudanese blogosphere's main topic and attraction was the teddy bear circus which received a huge amount of global media attention.
Japan: Web visionary Umeda Mochio
While famous in Japan as a web visionary, Silicon Valley resident Umeda Mochio, president of Muse Associates, co-founder of Pacifica Fund and board member of the Japanese bookmarking and diary service Hatena, is little-known overseas. His recent book "Web Shinkaron" ("Theory of Web Evolution") sold 370,000 copies and become a national besteller in Japan. Umeda was recently interviewed by the Japanese magazine Central Review (Chuo koron), portions of which are introduced and translated in this post.
Jordan: Film Festivals, Citizenship Law and More
From a film festival in Dubai, a Jordanian film maker is making his debut at Sundance. Mohammad Al Azraq reports on that as well as the citizenship law in Jordan, babies born out of wedlock and a book feast in the Netherlands.
Jamaica: Qualified Unemployment?
Francis Wade republishes a letter to the editor by a returning Jamaican national who can't get a job in order to make a point about why educated Jamaicans remain abroad.
Colombia: Letter to Emmanuel
Bogotá Subterranea [es] writes an open letter to four-year old Emmanuel, the son of FARC captive Clara Rojas, who is reportedly due to be set free soon.
Russia: Ded Moroz Ad Banned; Yolki in Moscow
James of Robert Amsterdam's blog writes about the government's ad on “a TV ad from an electronics retailer which poked fun at the existence of this mythical gift giver on the grounds that it broke a rule discrediting parents and teachers.” Lyndon of Scraps of Moscow posts his 2005 pictures...
China:Seething Eve on Nankai Campus
Though it is not the first time for a crash between pass-by vehicles and students riding bicycles, in the campus of Nankai University, such a significant accident is unprecedented. Hundreds of restless students, 20 police cars, and a broken, battered Buick sedan marked the seething Christmas Eve of this prominent school.
Iran:Islamist students want action against corruption
Madreseh Ma (means our school) informs[Fa] us that several Basij (Islamist) Student Associations criticized Iranian judiciary's inaction regarding corruption.
Guatemala: Changes in Adoption Laws
Guatemala Adoption Blog provides an update regarding the changes in Guatemalan law regarding adoptions.
China: Green Game for Children?
Jason Li from Virtual Chinawonders if virtual green game is a solution to the violent virtual game?
Bolivia: Christmas as a Child
Ruben Hilari of Lenguas y Comunicacion [es] recalls his childhood at Christmastime and the current scenes of children asking for coins.
Armenia: Corrupt Politics
Martuni or Bust reminds it readers that the former judge now turned radical opposition activist as the February 2008 presidential election in Armenia draws closer has a few skeletons in his own closet. In particular, the blog quotes an interview conducted with this author on concerns that the judge in...
Poland: Organ Donation
The beatroot writes about Polish boxing and kickboxing champion who donated one of his kidneys to his sick baby daughter: “The case has highlighted the lack of donors in Poland, though the country has one of the lowest family refusal rates in the EU – where relatives block the removal...
Georgia: Shakira in Tbilisi
After finding myself without the Internet at home for three days, I feel gutted that I missed out on Shakira's free concert two days ago in Tbilisi, Georgia. Writing on my Oneworld Multimedia blog, had I known I would have considered visiting Armenia's neighbor to the north for the concert.
Czech Republic: Penal Code
The Czech Daily Word reports on the changes in the Czech penal code.
Japan: Witnessing Gang Fight
Adamu witnessed a gang fight near his home.
Japan: Economics of the “Illegal” Download
Following on recent moves by the government to regulate the Internet, plans for regulation in other areas of online communication have been moving ahead apace in Japan. Among these is the plan to revise article 30 of Japan's Copyright Law to make it illegal for individuals to download copyrighted material for personal use, something which up until now had been considered legal. Blogger and economist Ikeda Nobuo delves into the economics of the "illegal download", strongly criticizing the proposed revision.
Russia: Kozlovsky's Forced Conscription
Robert Amsterdam's blog follows the story of a Russian youth movement leader's forced conscription to army – here, here and here.
