Stories about Weblog from April, 2008
Ecuador: Joining the Creative Commons Community
The Creative Commons license in Ecuador was recently unveiled at a university in Loja. Many bloggers applaud this iniative and have been quick to adopt these licenses for their own work. In addition, others live blogged the launch event, which celebrated the hard work of all those involved.
Ethiopian bloggers defend charged pop star
Ethiopian bloggers rushed to the defence of their country's top pop singer Teddy Afro, after he appeared in court charged with the hit-and-run killing of a youth in capital Addis Ababa. Many writers were convinced Afro was being framed by Ethiopian authorities who, they said, resented the singer's huge popularity and veiled anti-government lyrics.
PangeaDay: Videos to change the world on May 10th
On May 10th 2008 at 18:00 GMT, 24 films will be broadcast during a 4 hour event. What makes this different is that this event, PangeaDay will be broadcast from six locations worldwide in seven different languages worldwide to be viewed through internet, television or cellphones with one unique purpose: to make each other know about the lives of others and focus on what makes us similar, instead of what makes us different and let us work together towards peace.
Syria: Explosive Nuclear News
Yesterday, the CIA released footage of an alleged Syrian North-Korean-built nuclear reactor. The footage "exploded" all over the news. Yazan Badran brings us the reactions of Syria's bloggers.
China: Different Voices on the Upcoming Talk with Dalai Lama
The Xinhua news agency reported Friday that "In view of the requests repeatedly made by the Dalai side for resuming talks, the relevant department of the central government will have contact and consultation with Dalai private representative in the coming days.” The report has provoked another new round of controversy on Dalai Lama among the Chinese netizens.
Lusosphera: Remembering the Carnation Revolution
On April 25 1974, 34 years today, Portugal's 40-year fascist dictatorship, the longest in the history of Western Europe, came to an end with the Carnation Revolution, which also brought independence for the remaining colonies in Africa and Asia. Today Portuguese speaking bloggers from all over the world comment and celebrate.
Lost Brazilian ballooning priest carried into the blogosphere
This time the story is rather sad, but the blogosphere is exploding with humorous takes on the tragedy of a Brazilian Roman Catholic priest who is missing after drifting out to sea while trying to set a record for a flight using helium-filled party balloons.
Armenia: April 24 — Genocide Memorial Day
Yesterday marked the 93rd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocideand the deaths of approximately 1.5 million Armenians in Ottoman Turkey. Every year on 24 April, a date marking the roundup of Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in what is now Istanbul, Armenians commemorate the massacres and deportations worldwide. In Yerevan, this is particularly the case with hundreds of thousands marching up to the Tsitsernakaberd memorial overlooking the capital to lay flowers and pay their respects.
Venezuela: Kusturica's Visit Becomes Political
Acclaimed film director Emir Kusturica visited Caracas to close out the week of celebrations for the city with a concert by his No Smoking Orchestra. However, his visit and his concert became overly political when the Serbian filmmaker applauded the Venezuelan government's fight against imperialism during the free event, and at a local conference. Bloggers react to the disorganization of the concert and the political tone of the festivities.
Aussies and Kiwis Celebrate ANZAC Day
Australians and New Zealanders around the world celebrate the "Australian and New Zealand Army Corps" (ANZAC) Day in memory of those fallen soldiers of Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I.
Israel: Modern Day Exodus, on African Refugees and their Right for Medical Care
Around 6,000 African refugees escaped the horrors in their countries, and seek refuge in Israel. Many of them live in harsh conditions and can be spotted shivering cold on the streets of southern Tel-Aviv. The insensitive behavior from the side of the Israeli government comes only tens of years after the holocaust, when Jews came to the same plot of land, seeking refuge from the horrors of Europe, writes Gilad Lotan, who shows us how a group of bloggers are volunteering to draw a smile on the faces of countless of destitute refugees.
Korea: Roh Moo Hyun and Japanese Netizens
The previous Korean President, Roh Moo Hyun, as I wrote a previous post, ‘ Roh Moo Hyun Syndrome (March 30, 2008)’ has become famous even after his retirement due to his casual life style. While he generated hyeom-han gam-jeong (Japanese antipathy against Korea) during his governance, his life has been...
Brazil: Making a child murder into a media show
A child dies under mysterious circumstances. Her father and stepmother are the prime suspects chosen by the media and general public since the beginning, but the official investigations are still under way. Is it fair to lead 160 million people to believe someone is guilty of killing his own daughter before the final official pronunciation on the matter? What is around, and behind, the full time reality-show coverage made by the Brazilian media in cases like this? The Brazilian blogosphere talks.
Japan: Where has all the butter gone?
Where is the butter? — cry Japanese consumers who have been hunting everywhere for the dairy product. The drastic reduction in raw milk production, complicated by hikes in the price of grain as well as changes in the global patterns of dairy product consumption, have caused a serious butter shortage...
Taiwan: What is the dream we have in the Olympic Game?
Before an ancient Olympic Game, ancient Greek people ignited a torch before Temple of Olympian Zeus.[...] The torch holder would run and shout, 'stop wars to join the Olympics!' Where the torch went, where the war stopped.[...] Greek people went to the Olympic Game, and they forgot hatred and war. As a result, torch, which is a tool for sending signals, becomes a symbol for peace, light, and friendship.
China: Netizens defend Zimbabwe arms sales
As China's latest shipment of weapons and ammunition sits stranded off the coast of southeastern Africa and president Mugabe of landlocked Zimbabwe digs in against accusations of a fixed election, the majority of Chinese netizens are defending their government's arms sales to the country, at the same time accusing the US and its allies of double standards.
Green Global Voices on Earth Day 2008
Bloggers celebrated Earth Day on April 22 by posting their thoughts on what the day means, others did a roundup of articles, some shared reading lists and others mused about climate change. In this brief roundup we get a glimpse of these blogger's views on Earth Day 2008. Starting with...
Russia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan: Lenin's Birthday
On April 22, Vladimir Lenin would have turned 138 - and quite a few Russophone bloggers still remember the date.
Japan: Love and Hate Story of the Mascot Character, “Sento-kun”
Creepy?! Ugly?! Sacrilegious?! Not many people are happy about the mascot character for the Commemorative Events of the 1300th Anniversary of the Nara-Heijyoko Capital to be held in 2010. The character was designed by a sculptor and professor at Tokyo University of the Arts, Satoshi Yabuuchi, who is one of...
Kuwait: Just Give Me My Espresso
With Kuwait still recovering from last week's storm, one blogger updates us with pictures of the damage left behind; another tells us about the trouble one has to go through to order a simple espresso while a third talks about bribes and elections in this week's round up by Abdullatif AlOmar.
What's Carter Doing in the Middle East?
Former US President Jimmy Carter just concluded talks with Palestinian Hamas leaders in Cairo, Egypt. First, it was the turn of the US Presidential elections to snub the visit. Now, bloggers from the region join them to rebuff it.
