· August, 2006

Stories about Weblog from August, 2006

China: Patron saint of activist-bloggers?

  26 August 2006

How to describe twenty two-year old MSN Spaces blogger Zeng Jinyan? A threat to national security? An AIDS activist who brings support, joy and hope to countless AIDS orphans? A young wife radicalized after her husband was kidnapped by the state for over a month? Patron spokesblogger for otherwise voiceless...

Russian-Language Blogs: Miscellanea (2)

  25 August 2006

Victoria Shcherbina (LJ user saint-autere) reacts to the news of the August 22 TU-154 crash in eastern Ukraine, which killed all 170 people on board, by writing (RUS) about the death of her father – IL-86 navigator Valeriy Shcherbina – in a crash at Moscow's Sheremetyevo four years earlier, on...

Google in Brazil: Who Guards Orkut's Playground?

  25 August 2006

The Brazilian blogosphere is talking about Google or more specifically about Orkut, its social network which has attracted a huge number of players. In order to understand Google's significance in South America's biggest country it must be realized that today of the 20 million Brazilians with access to the Internet...

Broadband for All!!!

  24 August 2006

Chilean bloggers are concerned about the opportunities that broadband can bring to our development. Alex Lagos (ES) , writes on his blog: One week ago, La Nación published an article about broadband in Chile. The real thing is that we have been hearing about this issue for a while and...

Russian-Language Blogs: Miscellanea (1)

  24 August 2006

On August 19, LJ user sapojnik (39 years old, Moscow) wrote this (RUS) about the 15th anniversary of the 1991 August Putsch: The Day of Victory Over the CPSU It's necessary to have a clear understanding of what happened in August 1991. It wasn't the “collapse of the [Soviet] Union,”...

Brunei Times's take on blogging in Brunei

  24 August 2006

- The Brunei Times (22nd August, 2006) Some very lucky bloggers got a mention in the new English newspaper, The Brunei Times, in an article written by Amirul Azuan. The few blogs mentioned came from a myriad of genres ranging from the serious to the more trivial. The more important...

The Week that Was – Bolivian Blogs

  23 August 2006

Emigration from Bolivia, especially to Western European countries, continues to be a topic of discussion in the Bolivian blogosphere. Two Bolivians, who currently reside in Europe, are dismayed over tighter restrictions on entry to these destination countries. Holland-based blogger, Alexey Rodriguez says that “Only eleven countries in the world will...

Lebanon: One Week after the Cease Fire

Most Lebanese Blogs still reflect on the war and its aftermath. Some post photos of Lebanese trying to regain their lives and their efforts to fix that which was damaged. Others write political and social analysis of what happened and what should be done in addition to some personal accounts. Here is a sample. Happy reading.

This Week In Palestine: Black & Blue

One week after the Israeli army brutally attacked a weekly non-violent legal demonstration against the wall in the village of Bil’in, August 18th saw yet another black and blue protest. ISM reports that this time the army showed a greater sense of preparation as they added water cannons to their...

Racism in Mexican Football

  22 August 2006

Viewers of this year's World Cup couldn't help but notice the all out anti-racism offensive pushed by FIFA. Given the humiliations long-endured by players of color throughout Europe, the extensive campaign was seen by many as overdue. Yet despite the newfound awareness, “unfortunately,” writes Raúl Ramirez (ES) of Isopixel, “racism...

Extra-judicial killings in the Philippines

  22 August 2006

One of the basis of the impeachment complaint against Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is that she abetted political killings in the country. Human rights groups have accused Mrs. Arroyo of being the worst human rights violator in the country’s modern history.

A tale of two Ethiopian books

  21 August 2006

It was a tale of two books in Ethiopia’s blogosphere over the past two weeks. The first book, catchily titled African Development: Dead Ends and New Beginnings (PDF of the first draft – English), was written by Meles Zenawi, prime minister of Ethiopia, currently residing in the prime ministerial palace...

61st Anniversary of Indonesia's Independence Day

  20 August 2006

In commemorating the 61st anniversary of independence day, Indonesian bloggers have many ways to celebrate it. Agusti Anwar highlights the meaning of flag as a symbol of nation and nationalism: Flag is indeed a formal expression of recognition. To that effect, if a people dispose or pull out recognition of...

Cambodia: New Story Tellers on the Internet

  20 August 2006

According to a research report released recently by Pew Internet, most webloggers don't consider themselves doing journalism. In most cases they are not up to what a journalist does. In Cambodian blogosphere, there exists a series of interviews done by digital citizens playing the role of citizen's media. Chan Bopha,...

Former Soviet Union: 15 Years Since the August Coup

  19 August 2006

Today is 15 years since the beginning of the events that some people consider (RUS) Russia's Orange Revolution – but which are better known as the August Putsch. This year, on August 20 and 21, memorial services will be held in Moscow for Dmitry Komar, Ilya Krichevsky and Vladimir Usov,...

China: Blogs from the dark side

  19 August 2006

Does it goes without saying that the internet—particularly blogs and BBS'—is the place to go for unchecked and alternative voices in China? What about those blocked Chinese-language websites hosted overseas? Many like Wenxue City and 6Park also offer blogs, and here are titles of today's recommended posts from a few...

Escondida Copper Mine Closes Production Because of Strike

  19 August 2006

The high international prices of copper have caused the workers of the biggest copper company in the world to start a strike 12 days ago. They are asking for a better salary. Last night, 800 miners had a violent incident with the police forces who were trying to break up...