Stories about Weblog from June, 2011
Lebanon: Bloggers Fight Negative ‘Looks Like Beirut’ Jibe
We've all heard it before. Perhaps at the glance of an untidy bedroom, or even on a television sitcom, the ‘looks like Beirut' jibe has widely become a common phrase to denote a chaotic mess. A Twitter and blogger stir was caused last week when a headline in Australia's The Age newspaper invoked the infamous phrase.
Egypt: Sawiris and the Niqabi Minnie Mouse
Egyptian Christian business tycoon, and recent politician, Naguib Sawiris, posted a cartoon on his Twitter today showing Mickey Mouse with a beard and Minnie Mouse in Niqab. He commented: “Micky and Minnie after…” The cartoon sparked a lot of criticism, forcing Sawiris to remove it.
South Korea: Typhoon Opening Doors to Nature's Revenge
A typhoon hit South Korea on June 25 and 26, bringing heavy downpours and gusts and signalling the start of the rainy season. At least nine people were killed and a bridge and a levee collapsed. Moreover, a leakage was reported on a landfill where livestock was buried during a recent foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.
Video: Celebrating the Solstice
The celebrations for Summer and Winter Solstices were full of lanterns, dances, flowers and bonfires. Lets tour around the world to check out the different celebrations: Solstice at Stonehenge, Feast of Saint John's bonfires in Spain, Inti Raymi in Peru, we tripantu in Chile and Kupala Day in Russia or Midsummer's night in Poland.
Macedonia: New Parliament Assembles, Cements Election Victory for “Big Fish”
The newly-elected Macedonian Parliament held its initial session on Saturday, June 25, 2011. Its composition promises “more of the same” kind of politicking from the last few years.
Argentina: River Plate Football Club Relegated to Second Division
River Plate, one of the oldest and most successful football clubs in Argentina and in the world suffered one of its worse defeats recently: on June 26 it tied with Belgrano Athletic Club in a match where its membership of the first division of Argentine football was decided.
Introducing Brunei's Most Popular Blogger
Meet RanoAdidas, Brunei's most popular blogger. His success as a blogger was recently celebrated even by the mainstream media. He proved that blogging is not only a potential source of income but a viable platform to influence many people as well.
Thailand: ‘Vote No’ Campaign
Thais will troop to the polls next week and although the opposition is leading in some surveys, there is still no certainty of any group clinching a landslide victory. Unusually, the election ballot has a ‘no’ option provided to voters, and a movement has been orchestrated by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), or Yellow Shirts, to encourage citizens to 'Vote No'.
Egypt: Commemorating the Struggle Against Systematic Torture
As the world marked the International Day against Torture that falls on June 26, eyes were on Egypt where the struggle against citizen abuse has been particularly significant.
Syria: Black Comedy of the Revolution
Black comedy is one of the ways one deals with traumatic events. The recent events in Syria, while bloody and depressing to many people, have also brought about an explosion of blogs, Facebook pages and articles that try to satirize the events, and point out the absurdities in the official narrative - sometimes in very unorthodox ways.
China: Lawyers for Murder Suspects Detained Under Controversial Law
After four defense attorneys were recently detained for challenging confessions to a murder in Guangxi province which their clients are presumed to have given following the use of police force, a legal dream team has assembled and flown in from across the country to defend their colleagues.
Japan: Night Running as a Sub-Culture
Running is not something people usually associate with night-life or sub-cultures, but the members of the group Midnight Runners Tokyo (MRT) do. They have been hitting the streets of Tokyo at the dead of night on weekends, and see night running as culture in the making, rather than a sport.
Peru: Residents of Puno Resume Protests
Once again the inhabitants of the Puno region have taken to the streets in protests, this time against the contamination caused by the mining of minerals. Six people died as a result of the protests on the day when Peru celebrates the Day of the Peasant.
Kuwait: Flip Your Avatar, Show Support to the Bidun!
Kuwait has around 100,000 stateless people or Bidun - meaning without nationality. They have no papers, ID cards, access to government education and health care, birth or death certificates. With Arabs rising this year, the Bidun of Kuwait are making their voices heard, both on the ground and via social media, asking people to "flip their avatars" in support.
Syria: The Revolution and the Economy
For 100 days Syria's economy has been frozen. Commerce has halted to a standstill and the coming tourist season does not look good. In addition to that, thousands of frightened Syrians have been changing their savings from Syrian pounds to US dollars or Euros, putting an enormous pressure on the Syrian pound.
China: Update on the Independent Candidate Campaigns
The spokesperson for the Commission on Legislative Affairs of the National People’s Congress stated [zh] on June 8 2011 that no legal basis exists for independent candidacy in grassroots people's congress elections. To be a candidate in grassroots representative elections, he said, one has to first be endorsed by a...
Cuba: Cuba Votes for LGBT Resolution at UN Human Rights Council
The United Nation Human Rights Council passed a resolution expressing “grave concern at the violence and discrimination experienced by people because of their sexual orientation..." Among the nations that supported the measure was Cuba. Cuban bloggers and Twitter users celebrated this significant victory for the island’s LGBT communities.
Zambia: How Will Chiluba Be Remembered?
How will Chiluba be remembered? That is the question that is being debated by Zambian netizens on various networks. The buzz on the late former president’s death and his legacy is almost reflective of one of Zambian language sayings which states that on the day an elephant dies, it is the talk of the village.
Mozambique: The Controversial Basket Against Poverty
In Mozambique, one of the measures proposed by the Government to mitigate the impact of the increases in the cost of living for Mozambicans has generated controversy with citizens. In spite of all expectations, the Basic Needs Basket Subsidy “abortion" was pronounced on June 16.
Syria: Blogging Day for Syria
Today marks the 100th day since the protest movement found its foothold in Syria. A 100 days later, more than 1,400 deaths, and three presidential speeches, the protest movement is still in full force. This Friday is being billed "friday of delegitimization".
Senegal: Proposed New Election Law Sparks Riots in Dakar
President of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade's, proposed amendment to the Constitution and election law, in anticipation of the presidential elections of 2012, has made a lot of Senegalese angry and sparked demonstrations and riots in the capital Dakar on June 23. This popular unrest has since forced the government to drop the suggested amendment.
