· August, 2011

Stories about Weblog from August, 2011

Global Voices Partners with UNFPA on 7 Billion Actions

  31 August 2011

This year the world's population will exceed 7 billion people. To mark this milestone, Global Voices has been commissioned by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to write a series of posts that celebrate how one person or group can still make a difference in a world of 7 billion people.

Russia: Why We Are Leaving Our Country Behind

RuNet Echo  31 August 2011

Recent months have seen a new spin on the topic of emigration that seems to be ever-present in the Russian online space. Several powerful blog posts written by people from different social groups have become a platform for expressing one's take on the present and future of the country and people's place in it.

Bangladesh: Coming Home For Eid

  30 August 2011

Eid is the biggest religious festival in the Muslim majority country Bangladesh, and a key part of the celebration is going home to celebrate with family in distant places. Bijoy has a roundup of Bangla blog reactions on the struggle, frustration and the joy of reaching home to celebrate Eid.

China: Who Could Have Known The Libyans Hate Gaddafi?

  30 August 2011

One of China's top military analysts at home, has turned the official line on Libya into something of a joke, and abroad, China's nominal support for Gaddafi may end up costing the country oil contracts and much more. Netizens look at the lessons Beijing could stand to learn.

Brazil: Mozambique Cedes Land to Brazilian Agribusiness

  30 August 2011

Mozambique is ceding 6 million hectares of land to Brazilian farmers. The idea is to draw on the Brazilian experience in the Cerrado, a biosphere similar to the African savanna, where industrial cattle grazing and soy plantations have already devastated 80% of the richest grasslands in the world.

China and USA: Joe Biden's Noodle Meal

  30 August 2011

The United States Vice President Joe Biden ended his six-day official visit to China on 22 August, 2011. Most Chinese people do not know whether or not there there has been any diplomatic achievement during this trip, their attention is instead focused on the bowl of noodles Biden had in Beijing. Oiwan Lam explains more.

Malaysia: Generation 709 Calls for Political Reforms

  30 August 2011

Following the Bersih democracy rally last July 9, a group of young Malaysians has come forward to continue the demand for free and fair elections, calling themselves ‘Generation 709’. The group hopes to reach out to more young people and mobilize them for political and civil rights through active use of social media

Spain: Racism and Intolerance Advance Relentlessly

  29 August 2011

In Europe, xenophobia advances at an immense rate. Author Ana Lucía Sá writes about the situation of immigrants in Spain, the invisibility of the issue of racism and hate crimes in public discourse, and offers comments and analysis from bloggers and organizations that work against racism.

Blog Carnival: Mexico – Verbalizing the Violence

  29 August 2011

Our first 2011 Blog Carnival had the theme "Mexico - Citizenry, Violence and Blogs". In this first part of the final summary, we showcase what Mexican bloggers thought about past violent events happening in their country and how they handle and express their pain when violence has affected them.

Saudi Arabia: A Special Twitter Hashtag for the King!

A Saudi hashtag entitled #tal3mrak which literary translates into “May god prolong your life” or “your majesty” if translated into a Western context, took Twitter by storm today. The hashtag came as a surprise to those who never thought Saudi netizens would have the courage to address their authorities via social media.

Egypt: Omar Soliman Facebook Army

A poll conducted by the Supreme Council of Armed Forces on their Facebook page to see how much support each of the potential Egyptian presidential elections candidates had on the ground yielded 'fishy' results. Here are reactions online after news emerged that a Facebook army was hired to tweak them.

South Korea: Pop Music Censorship Meets with Strong Opposition

  28 August 2011

More than 2,600 South Korean pop songs have been censored in the past two years for their "hazardous" lyrics. One entertainment agency, however, filed a lawsuit against the government that deemed its singer’s album as ‘inappropriate for youths’ and won the case. The decision was widely welcomed by Korean public.

Singapore Elects New President

  28 August 2011

Dr Tony Tan was elected Singapore's seventh president on August 27 with a winning margin of only 7,269 votes. This was enough to beat the three other candidates in Singapore’s first presidential election in 18 years.