Stories about Feature from May, 2009
Iran: Khatami answers bloggers’ questions
On Sunday, Mohamad Khatami, the former reformist Iranian president, who is backing Mir Hussein Mousavi's candidacy in the Iranian presidential election, took part in an internet TV programme launched by reformists called Mowj4. Khatami answered questions from the internet, including from bloggers, Facebook members and Twitter.
Internet in North Korea, Nokia's Ovi Store, Google Wave and Tech Happenings
Tech events were happening in Thailand, Vietnam and Japan. North Korea got mobile internet and Google released a new product. We have reviews, analysis and links from bloggers in Asia and Africa.
Go Farm, Young Man! – How Farming in Japan is Changing
For a country that identifies strongly as being historically agricultural people, the landscape of Japan's agricultural sector is bleak, and has been for some time. Simply put, the workforce is rapidly aging and there aren't nearly enough successors. The price of rice has gone down, and structural reform is unlikely...
Morocco: Campaigning for the Disenchanted
The electoral campaign for the local council (or communal) elections in Morocco, due in June 12 has started amidst widespread apathy and disenchantment. The debate has been raging over the Moroccan blogosphere about the relevance of the process, participation over boycott, and the balkanized political scene.
Indonesia: Jailed For Complaining
The case of Prita Mulyasari, a mother of two, is currently the hot topic among Indonesian bloggers. Prita shared her experience of being maltreated by a private hospital on a mailing-list. The hospital took legal action against her. The online complaint may result into six years jail term and maximum fine of 1 billion Rupiah (nearly US$ 98,000).
Russia: Bloggers’ Memories of Soviet Maternity Hospitals
Last year, Sinisa Boljanovic translated a number of heartrending childbirth stories, written anonymously by Serbian women and posted on the "Mother Courage" award-winning site, launched and maintained by Serbian blogger Branka Stamenkovic/Krugolina Borup. This month, LJ user germanych, a Russian blogger, asked his readers to share experiences of giving birth in the Soviet Union. While Branka Stamenkovic's "Mother Courage" initiative is an attempt to change the situation for the better, the Russian blogger's goal has been to document a lesser-known chapter of the Soviet history.
Iran: YouTube, Broadway music and the Election
Campaigners in the Iranian elections have used YouTube in different ways to promote their favorite candidate or discredit their opponents. Four candidates will be on the ballot for the presidency on June 12, including the current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
East Timor: Thoughts on Abortion A Few Days Before Law Approval
A heated debate about the provisions of a new draft penal code pertaining to abortion is taking place right now in East Timor. If the law is passed, abortion will become a crime and those who perform it will be punished with 2 to 8 years imprisonment, even in cases of incest or rape. The blogosphere reacts, Timorese women raising their voices and questioning why the more pressing issue of underage prostitution is not being debated instead.
Honduras: Strong Earthquake Shakes Country
Honduras awoke early in the morning of May 28 when an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale shook the country. Five deaths were confirmed, more injured, and slowly there is the discovery of damages to the country's infrastructure like buildings, bridges, and highways. Microblogging platforms like Blipea and Twitter were the first to report the earthquake from users in San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa and La Ceiba. However, some bloggers were unable to update their sites due to electrical and internet outages all across the country.
Hong Kong: SC group censored June 4th special feature
Daisy, an editor from Esquire, a lifestyle magazine under South China media group in Hong Kong, disclosed in her blog that the top management banned the publication of 15 pages June 4th special feature in its latest issue. The top rank company staff, after looking at the layout, said the...
Russia: Blogging for Justice in Hit-and-Run Accident Case
On May 13, 2009, a Subaru Forester car hit a pregnant woman who was crossing the street in Moscow. She died in hospital later. The perpetrator escaped the scene of the crime, but eye-witnesses remembered his license plate number. He turned out to be an off-duty police officer. On May 21, he was still not apprehended. On that day, the victim's husband, Alexey Shumm, started a blog to draw public attention to this tragic case and to document his attempts to seek justice. Below are some excerpts.
Peru: Freezing Temperatures in Puno Result in Children Deaths
While much of Peru and the media has been discussing the 16 confirmed individuals with AH1N1 virus, very little has been mentioned about the 133 children that have recently died as a result of the freezing temperatures affecting the southern part of the country. Bloggers have been noting this difference in coverage, and have been criticizing the lack of planning by local and national governments for what has been become an annual tragedy.
Singapore: First LGBT Rally
More than 2,500 people in Singapore gathered at Hong Lim Park to form a human Pink Dot - a symbol of love and inclusiveness. It was Singapore’s first public rally in support for the Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
Bangladesh, India: No To Tipaimukh Dam
The Tipaimukh Hydroelectric Project is being constructed near the confluence of Barak and Tuivai rivers, in Manipur, India and within 100km of Bangladesh border. The project will submerge a huge portion of land, thereby making thousands of people homeless and threatening the habitats of Indigenous population in India. The downstream neighbor Bangladesh will also face severe environmental and economic consequences.
Caribbean, UK: Padel resigns from Oxford post
After regional bloggers reacted en masse to the withdrawal of St. Lucian Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott from the race to be Oxford Professor of Poetry, Ruth Padel, Walcott's closest competitor who eventually won the coveted post, has resigned under pressure of mounting allegations that she was the puppet master behind the smear campaign. Caribbean bloggers do not seem surprised.
Mozambique: House of the Flying Azagaias
In Mozambique, rapper Azagaia has continued to fascinate and infuriate bloggers. His critics claim his political lyrics amount to demagoguery. Others defend his music, to which many Mozambicans happily provide the chorus, and say his critics speak in exclusive, academic terms.
Palestine: Israeli Armed Police Disrupt Literature Festival
The Palestine Festival of Literature is a traveling cultural roadshow touring across the West Bank, in Palestine, from May 23 to 28. The aim is to take literary activities to Palestinians, who aren't allowed to travel under the occupation. However, the opening was marred when armed Israeli police ordered the theatre where the event was hosted to shut down. Bloggers from around the world reacted to the incident.
China and Hong Kong: June 4th protest T-shirt design
Every year on the Sunday before the anniversary of June 4th Incident (Tiananmen Square, 1989), people in Hong Kong would demonstrate to call for justice. This year, the 20th anniversary rally will be on May 31st. Moreover, on the evening of June 4th, there will be a candle night vigil...
Venezuela: Keeping the Internet as a Priority
When the Venezuelan government emitted Decree No. 6649, it raised red flags within the online community concerned about the possible effects to development. The decree seeks to eliminate “luxuries” or “superflouous expenses” among the public expenditure, among which includes the Internet. As a result, the online campaign Internet Prioritaria was created with the opinion that Internet is a basic need and is pushing that research and other educational programs not be affected by budget cuts.
Malaysia: Yuna Changes the Face of Indie Music
In recent years more and more independent musicians are gaining popularity thanks to social networking websites such as YouTube and MySpace. Meet Yuna from Malaysia. She is the talk of the local blogosphere for not only producing great music but also her wholesome image. She causes a stir, in a positive way, in the indie music scene for wearing the tudung, a scarf worn around the head by women in Malaysia.
Trinidad & Tobago: Where's the Integrity?
Transparency and good governance have been popular topics in the Caribbean blogosphere of late. The latest debacle over integrity (or lack thereof?) comes from Trinidad and Tobago, where, in the last few weeks, a second attempt to establish an Integrity Commission has come to a crashing halt amidst revelations that the Chair of the Commission, a Catholic priest, had committed acts of plagiarism. To add even more fuel to the fire, the journalist who drew attention to the plagiarism in the first place, appears to have been fired. Bloggers speak out.
