Stories about Feature from November, 2007
Special Coverage: Middle East Peace 2007
The Middle East Question has grabbed the international headlines for more than half a century. It is now the turn of the region's netizens to vent off and add their perspectives to events touching their lives and the security and stability of the countries they live in. Read about what the region's most outspoken bloggers have to say in our Middle East Peace 2007 Special Coverage page.
Israel: Blogger's Views on the Annapolis Summit
The Annapolis Conference, held on November 27, 2007 at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, ended with the issuing of a joint statement from all parties. Over the past week, Israeli bloggers shared mostly pessimistic voices around the topic of this conference. Many are cynical to the possibility of peace emanating from these leaders who have little support from their people.
Kuduro: The Sexy Angolan Rhythm With a Message
Whether the word Kuduro comes from the Kimbundu language, native to northern Angola and means “location” or from the Portuguese expression meaning “hard ass” or “stiff bottom” is debated but there's no argument that the dance is sexy. As one watches the dancers of this Angolan music style jutting their...
Caribbean: Earthquake Tremors
Just a few hours ago, the Caribbean experienced strong tremors from an earthquake that originated off the coast of Martinique - regional bloggers talk about what it was like.
Rising Voices Microgrant Application Deadline Extended to Dec. 3
The application deadline for microgrants of up to US$ 5,000 to fund citizen media outreach projects in the developing world has been extended until Monday, December 3. Ideal applicants will present innovative and detailed proposals to teach citizen media techniques to communities that are poorly positioned to discover and take advantage of tools like blogging, video-blogging, and podcasting on their own.
Egypt: YouTube Disables Activist's Account
A storm is brewing in the Egyptian blogosphere after video hosting site You Tube removed several videos featuring policemen torturing victims from their site. "This is by far the biggest blow to the anti-torture movement in Egypt," writes Wael Abbas, an award winning blogger, whose videos capturing the torture of victims at the hands of police were removed from You Tube. What are the other bloggers saying?
Japan: Blog Queen takes a break
Gravure idol, talento and blog queen Wakatsuki Chinatsu announced today that she would be taking time off from blogging. The final entry posted today at her official blog attracted thousands of comments from fans offering their support, a few of which are translated here.
Korea: Foreigners on Korean TV
A TV program in Korea featuring foreign women who are able to speak Korean and who give their opinions about Korean society and culture has been popular recently. Participants in the program have fast become celebrities due to their exotic appearance. While TV audiences like the program and talk about...
Bolivia: Conflicts in Sucre Over New Constitution
In the city of Sucre, confrontations between citizens and police claimed the lives of four Bolivians. Delegates from the governing party decided on the text of a new constitution without including the opposition. Bolivian bloggers based in Sucre and across the country commented on the violence and tactics used by the majority party.
China: Our man in Australia?
Chinese president Hu Jintao likes Australia's new Prime Minister, who served as a diplomat to China in the 80s, so much that he invited Kevin Rudd and his family to next year's Olympics months before Rudd would go on to defeat incumbent John Howard in this past weekend's election. What...
Brazil: On the “Che e-mails” and credibility of journalism
An article on the 40th anniversary of Che Guevara's death, led to a heated email exchange between an editor of Brazilian magazine Veja and an American reporter for The New Yorker. The correspondence has spilled onto the internet, where it has fueled a juicy public debate about the impartiality and credibility of Brazilian journalism.
Ukraine: Holodomor
This year, Nov. 24 was the day to remember the victims of the 1932-33 famine in Ukraine, Holodomor. Ukrainian bloggers share what they learned about the tragedy from their grandparents.
Bahrain: Losing its identity?
This week in Bahrain we have opinions on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit, a blogger's dilemma about whether to have a female friend, another getting stuck between his wife-to-be and her family, a call for more Islamic bloggers, and a fear that Bahrain won't stay Bahraini for much longer...
China: Bankrupt ant farmers prepare to protest
Shenyang was mobbed today with furious ex-ant farmers, former employees of Yilishen, a media darling and one of China's most well-known brands in the health supplement market, as the company has just closed, taking the huge amounts its peasant-class employees had invested with it. The city's ant farming industry is...
Bangla blogs seek aid for cyclone Sidr victims
Five days after cyclone Sidr ravaged Bangladesh, news regarding devastation continues to pour in. Despite steps taken by the administration to evacuate a large number of people and put them out of harm's way, the official death toll has now crossed 3000. According to the updated statistics provided by the...
China: Bloggers bust another really big lie
One of the less glamorous side-effects of censorship, the impact the 17th Communist Party National Congress had on Chinese media made a faked photograph of a rare tiger the top story throughout the Chinese blogsphere for the entire past month. The whole affair ended this weekend when an obscure blogger...
Japan: The Bully and the Bullied
The phenomenon of bullying in schools is a recurring theme in Japan. A government survey released last week, which found that that the number of cases of bullying has increased sixfold over the result of the year before, has driven up anxiety about the problem yet again. In this post, some of the thoughts of Japanese bloggers, a translated message from a victim, and the experience of one counselor in confronting the problem.
Syria: Facebook Banned
Syria's netizens have been given another slap on the face with the banning of social networking site Facebook. With Blogger already blocked, the country's bloggers are fuming and have a lot to say about the latest development.
Brazil: Black Pride and the racism debate
From 1550 to 1888 at least 3 million Africans were brutally shipped to Brazil by the slave trade, making nearly half of all the slaves brought to South America. Most of them came from Angola and Mozambique, then Portuguese colonies in Africa, and were subjected to forced labor in the...
Rising Voices in Sierra Leone and Bangladesh
This week we highlight developments of two of the Rising Voices grantees in Asia and Africa. Interns at the Think Build Change Salone in Sierra Leone are starting to document their experiences while Bangladeshi women at the Nari Jibon center add video and photography to their skill kit.
Hiring: Global Voices seeks an Executive Director
The new board of directors of Global Voices met this week and decided it was time for an exciting step: hiring an executive director for Global Voices. Believe it or not, Global Voices has operated for almost three years with no one formally at the helm of the organization, and...
