· September, 2007

Stories about Weblog from September, 2007

Ukraine: The Language Issue

  23 September 2007

Victor Yanukovych's Party of the Regions is pushing for a referendum on granting Russian official status as a national language, in addition to Ukrainian. Below is a selection of views on the "language issue" from the Ukrainian blogosphere.

Russia: Conference on Renewable Energy Sources

  23 September 2007

Web 2.0. is finally coming to the Balkans: SeminarskiRad.com, a portal based on the share principle and offering free resources to Serbian students, has become really popular very quickly. A few days ago, the portal's blog supplement opened on Blogger, dedicated to the topics relevant to Serbia's youth. The first post is a report from a recent Moscow conference on renewable energy, whose aim was to educate young scientists in order to make this planet greener.

Brazil: Google Bombing the Senate

  23 September 2007

The president of Brazil's Senate, Renan Calheiros, has been recently absolved over accusations of graft in a 40-to-35 secret ballot vote in the Senate House. The accusation against Calheiros was that he had personal expenses paid by a construction firm in exchange of political favors. He was discharged in a...

Environment: The UN Conference on Climate Change

  22 September 2007

Global Voices is one of the blogs invited to attend the United Nations High Level Event on Climate Change in New York, Monday September 24th. I am honored to be representing GV at the conference, and will be attending the sessions. – Thematic Plenary I – Adaptation – From Vulnerability...

Morocco: Morocco Welcomes New Prime Minister

  22 September 2007

Following the September 7 elections, Moroccan King Mohammed VI appointed a new prime minister, Abbas el-Fassi, to replace Driss Jettou, who had served in that position since 2002. El-Fassi, who may be best known for a failed business operation involving an Emirati cruise ship (which left many hopeless young men vying for jobs and lead a few to commit suicide), is a member of the winning Istiqlal (Independence) party. Read how the Moroccan blogopshere reacted in this post by Jillian York.

Uzbekistan: A nation's great loss

  22 September 2007

On September 7, 2007, a sunny Friday morning, Tashkent and the whole country were struck with sad news. Mark Weil, the legendary artistic director of the famed Ilkhom Theatre was mugged to death. Tolkun reports from the blogosphere.

Syria: What's on the Palate?

  22 September 2007

Perhaps because it's Ramadan, or because talking about the news is difficult, this week Syrian bloggers are focused on food. From the best recipes to those that make no sense at all, here's a roundup of this week's posts.

Iraq: Repugnant Black Water

  22 September 2007

Salam Adil discusses the reactions of Iraqi bloggers to Black Water, a private security firm, which has recently killed at least eight Iraqi civilians while driving American diplomats through the streets of Baghdad in this post.

Who Owns the African Blogosphere?

  22 September 2007

The second Digital Citizen Indaba took place on September 9, 2007 at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa. Discussions during the Indaba centered on issues of blogging, cyber-activism, language and identity.

Japan: Impatient patients

  22 September 2007

In recent years, harsh criticisms have been focused at hospitals and healthcare workers about the quality of medical care. An example of the target of criticisms was a doctor conducting transplants using diseased kidneys in Ehime. And most recently, a pregnant woman, who lived just a few minutes away from...

Korea: Blood Type and Personality

  22 September 2007

Researchers at Yonsei University’s graduate school announced that they just finished a research program on how personalities differ by blood type. Based on 50 research projects on the patterns of blood types by domestic and foreign scholars, they added scores if some reports show the same contents with generally known...

Cambodia: Blogging from Siem Reap

  21 September 2007

Cambodian blogger and Global Voices Author Tharum Bun talks to fellow blogger Vireak from Seam Reap. Tharum asks Vireak about his motivations for starting and maintaining his blog. Vireak shares his unique ideas on the blogging scene in Cambodia.

Bahrain: No Eating, No Drinking, No Smoking – And No Work?

  21 September 2007

In the Bahraini blogosphere this week we hear from a blogger who wants a job, and a blogger who wishes he didn’t have a job. There's also a student entering her final year, unemployed teachers, and an MP who thinks Muslims shouldn't have to work during Ramadan. One blogger reveals that there are fifteen ways to spell his name. And a 'football widow' tells her story!

Guatemala: Views On Indigenous People

  21 September 2007

Much of Guatemalan population descends from indigenous origins, in whole or part. Only a small minority comes from a different racial origin. That's why the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People released on September 13 is so relevant for the country. However, of higher concern is the expressions and views of "indigenous" and racism from Guatemalan bloggers.

Confronting Euro-American media biases against Africa

  21 September 2007

Malawian blogger on africa-aphukira (African Rebirth), Steven Sharra, chronicles serious biases by Euro-American media and scholars against Africa in not crediting the recent archeological finding to a Kenyan palentologist, Fredrick Manthi. He writes, "The question for us now becomes how to move beyond the cliché that describes the blatant anti-Africa biases not only in the EuroAmerican media, but also in the entire knowledge enterprise. "

Japan: Axe Murder, School Days and a Nice Boat

  21 September 2007

In a bizarre twist of events, the shocking story of a girl who killed her father with an axe, believed to be motivated by her interest in manga, triggered TV networks to cancel airing of the final episode of School Days, a popular anime show. In its place, broadcasters aired a series of slow, meandering shots of castles, mountains, and... a nice boat. A meme was thus born that has spread like wildfire across bulletin boards and blogs, sparked various creative offshoots, and even inspired conspiracy theories.

Environment: Green Views from Africa

  21 September 2007

Can you be a fan of Top Gear, cool looking fast cars and…the environment? What blogging event is slated for October 15th this year? What happens to all the computers donated to Africa? This week the answers to these uncommonly asked questions come from several bloggers out of Africa. Image...

[GV Show Special] Trinidad & Tobago: Anti-smelter activism meets the Internet

  20 September 2007

Atillah Springer is a journalist, activist and blogger from Trinidad and Tobago and a member of a protest movement which, earlier this year, succeeded in driving the aluminium industry giant Alcoa out of a community in rural Trinidad where they had proposed to establish a smelter under somewhat dubious circumstances. In this podcast I talk with Atillah about the movement's use of the Internet in their organising activities.

China: On the tazing

  20 September 2007

Actually, as with almost everything major that happens in America—even Michelle Malkin has multiple Chinese names—people from all corners of China have seen and heard all about Don't Tase Me Bro! Internet news and blogging crossover site Netease has a unique function where all commenters are identified by region, and...

The rise of the Zambian blogsphere

  20 September 2007

The Zambian blogsphere is growing. Two years ago one would struggle to find a regularly updated blog covering any meaningful issues. I am happy to report that is now changing. New blogs are being created at pace faster than I can count. And the good news is that what were personal entries are now being transformed into meaningful blogs that seek to encourage dialogue and trading of ideas.