Stories about Weblog from October, 2006
China: Writings on the walls
Back in the day, big character posters were mostly used for vile purposes, so when they started popping up recently on shop fronts in a remote corner of China's Yunnan province, it's no surprise mention was made at major Chinese forum Tianya. From Tianya blogger Big Reporter (大记者): 云南石林县惊现”大字报” Shilin...
Lebanon: Political Uncertainty and Men
Many Lebanese blogs are reflecting the internal political bickering that is creating an atmosphere of uncertainty about the future of the country. Most of the posts in this weeks review are bleak with little hope for the future. This is something that is very unusual for a people who take...
Swahili Blogosphere: Madonna, power rationing, and illiterate thieves
Chemi Che Mponda sums up her feelings about critics of Madonna's adoption of a Malawian baby, David Banda: David Banda kazaliwa katika umaskini, lakini leo anaishi katika utajiri. Na lazima kuna watu wanamwonea wivu! David Banda was born poor and became rich overnight. Some people must be jealous of him....
Hugo Chavez in the Iranian left-wing blogs
Hugo Chavez, the leftist Venezuelan President, has developed a very friendly relationship with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian Islamist President. Iran even awarded the Venezuelan President its highest state medal for supporting Tehran in its nuclear standoff against the international community. This alliance was discussed a couple of months ago among...
Mexico: The last moments of Bradley Roland Will
Journalism seems like a precarious profession to practise in Mexico. It's ranked by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) as one of the most dangerous places to be a journalist. The latest tragic example of this came on Friday 27th October, in the southern state of Oaxaca, with the shooting...
Violence and Misinformation Abound in Oaxaca
The usually tranquil Southern Mexican tourist town of Oaxaca – with its large, shaded plaza and gallery-lined alleys – had transformed into a political pressure cooker over the past few months in what began as a seemingly routine teacher's strike in late May. The lid then blew straight off yesterday...
Arabisc: Sexual Harrassment and the Egyptian Blogosphere
After a month of abstinence (from sex naturally) during daylight hours in the Holy month of Ramadhan, a mob of sex starved Egyptians decided to celebrate Eid by attacking and sexually harassing women on the streets of Cairo. The first the incident was made public was during a television show,...
Voices from Zimbabwe
Following recent reports chronicling the decline in Zimbabwe's HIV/AIDS prevalence, the spotlight has now been turned on to the effect anti-AIDS campaigns have wrought on traditional Zimbabwean morals and values: Zimbabwe's lead in condom use and condom sale worldwide has produced mixed reactions, with some sections of society welcoming the...
IGF in Athens: searching globally for the Internet's common ground
The first meeting of the Internet Governance Forum – IGF, which aims to be a a place for a “multi-stakeholder policy dialogue”, starts tomorrow, going from 30 October to 2 November in Athens, Greece. The idea of the forum emerged during last year's meetings of the World Summit on the...
Prominent Bahraini Blog, Blocked!
It's official, Mahmood's Blog (http://mahmood.tv) will be blocked effective immediately, by the orders of the Bahraini Ministry of Information. Together with 6 other web sites (listed below), the official memo was delivered to all the ISP's in Bahrain this afternoon. Mahmood Al-Yousif, is a prominent Bahraini/Arab blogger. His blog is...
Bangladesh in Turmoil
Bangladesh is going through turbulent times as the row over an interim caretaker government chief persists who will lead the country towards the upcoming parliament election in January 2007. This unique caretaker government (CTG) system adopted in Bangladesh constitution worked in past three elections. However this time the opposition parties...
Venezuelan Bloggers: A Lot More Than Politics
Regular readers of the Global Voices “daily links” coming out of Venezuela are probably left with the impression that – just a month from presidential elections – the entire country, or at least its bloggers, are single-mindedly focused on politics. And while that may be understandably true of Venezuela's anglophone...
Russia: LJ and Politics
On October 25, International Herald Tribune published Evgeny Morozov's opinion piece on the recent developments in the Russian blogosphere. On his blog – Sharp & Sound: Perspectives On Modern Politics – Morozov wrote: […] I’ve been surprised how little coverage the story has received in the Western media…Hm, virtually none…...
The Week That Was in Bahrain
Bahrain's bloggers celebrated Eid this week, with many posting greetings on their sites or simply musing about the tradition. While Mahmood Al Yousif thinks that “Eid this time seems to be spread through the whole week, rather than a single day where the whole nation celebrates!”, Silly Bahraini Girl took...
Dispatch from Uganda
The tenuous peace talks in Juba, Sudan, between the Government of Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) continue for a third month, with each side accusing the other of non-compliance with the cessation of hostilities agreement. However, complete breakdown of the talks was averted when the Government of Southern...
Ethiopian blogger scoops mainstream media
The story broke at 12.42 pm. An Ethiopian human rights activist, another unnamed Ethiopian and two senior officials from the European Commission had been arrested that morning close to Ethiopia's border with Kenya. The report from Ethiopian blogger Ethio-Zagol named the activist as Yalemzewd Bekele and the two European officials...
Philippines: Reflections on blogging
Solar power teaches journalism in the premier state university of the country. While he appreciates the potential of blogging in the democratization process, he underscores the need to filter information from the internet: “These developments can be seen as empowering for people who want to use the Internet to get...
China: How blogging has changed my life
The Chinese Blogger Conference will take place in Hanzhou this weekend. To prepare for the conference, the organizers announced a submission of posts on “How blogging has changed my life?” Keso has reviewed the posts and yesterday announced the best two. The two bloggers, Zola and Xiao Mei, were awarded...
Chilean Cycling Bloggers
Santiago, the capital of Chile, is one of the most polluted cities in the World (of which we are not proud). In this scenario a group of bike lovers, have developed a way to promote cycling in the city. “Arriba de la Chanca” (ES) (the translation is “over the pig.” in...
Voices from Central Asia and the Caucasus
Alpine Pastures – Jailoo (c) Christopher Herwig, www.herwigphotos.com It's time to strike our tents (or Kyrgyz yurts in the Jailoo in this case), the summer is over (although in Kazakhstan's capital Astana there's snow even in August…). Which also means more time for Central Asia buffs to spend in front...
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Exploring the Pyramid
“Bosnian Pyramid? – Visocica Hill” – by sjareb It's been over a year since the whole Bosnian pyramid media fuss started. Still, many talk about the possible discovery of Europe’s first step pyramid complex. The event is significant for Bosnia & Herzegovina's recovery, as it brings positive media attention and...