Stories about Weblog from October, 2007
Bahrain: The times they are a-changin'…
Many of Bahrain's bloggers are either lamenting or advocating change of one kind or another this week, whether concerning family celebrations, employment practices, political priorities – or even footwear, writes Ayesha Saldanha, in her latest round up of the Bahraini blogosphere.
Morocco: Interview with an Amazigh Blogger
Jillian York sheds light on the message and struggle of Moroccan Amazigh and activist Bouba, who blogs at Ghasbouba. Who are the Amazigh? What is Bouba blogging about and what does he like to see the blogging world accomplish?
Bolivia: Columnist Uses Blog to Draft Cyber-Proposal With Readers
The Bolivian government announced a drastic change in providing retirement benefits to elderly Bolivians under a plan called “Renta Dignidad”. These funds replace the annual “Bonosol”, and will come directly from the Direct Hydrocarbons Tax (IDH for its initials in Spanish) and will be payable once a month for all...
Armenian Genocide Resolution in the U.S. Congress — Righting a Historical Wrong?
It's not often that Armenia makes international headlines across the globe, but when it does it's usually because of one issue that remains fiercely debated until this day — the massacre and deportation of as many as 1.5 million Armenians from Ottoman Turkey in 1915-17. 22 countries recognize the events...
China: Cop catches suspect using Google Earth
When border cops couldn't find one suspected human smuggler, blogs GSeeker's Ken Wong, they went knocking on the door of one local police officer who uses Google Earth to keep tabs on all local villagers.
Japan: NOVA on the brink of collapse
Despite numerous statements to the contrary from an increasingly evasive management, the collapse of Japan's largest English language school operator NOVA appears imminent as bloggers have been reporting lesson cancellations, school closings, and busy phone lines. Read about the thoughts and first-hand experiences of Japanese bloggers in today's post.
Environment: The Greening of Nairobi and Possible Land Grabbing at Mt. Kenya
There is some good news and bad news coming out of Kenya. The good news is the greening of the capital city Nairobi, and the bad news is the unfolding situation where possible land grabbing is taking place around Mt. Kenya. We will be looking at these stories in this...
Korea: Eating Alone and Loneliness
In a major newspaper, there was a column about eating alone. “Eating alone, you should be strong.” Citing the script of a movie, Hope Floats, the columnist says how difficult eating alone is and especially in Korea. After the column, there is a compilation of how bloggers think about the...
The War in Abkhazia – ‘Cyxymu’ Remembers
Blogger cyxymu - whose Russian-language blog is devoted to the “memories of Sukhumi, the war and the pain” - spent the second half of September marking the 14th anniversary of the storm of the Abkhaz capital, which dealt a final defeat to the Georgian forces in their war with Abkhazia. Lyndon Allin translates from some of cyxymu's entries, and reviews and comments on the others.
Russia: A St. Petersburger in Moscow
Russian bloggers are, of course, eagerly discussing the upcoming elections and other newsworthy political developments, but there's still plenty of room in the country's blogosphere for apolitical reflection. St. Petersburg journalist Svetlana Gavrilina (LJ user aneta_spb), for example, shares her impressions of Moscow, filing her little sketch from "the-street-named-after-I've-again-forgotten-who" in Kuzminki district of the Russian capital.
Pakistan: In the wake of the attacks
On her return from an eight year self imposed exile, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was welcomed to Karachi with a procession of thousands of her supporters, and two successful suicide bombers. The attack resulted in 136 dead, hundreds more injured and a public that was left in utter shock. The public have their own opinions about who is ultimately responsible.
Philippines: Deadly Mall Blast Shocks Filipinos
Citizen journalism and citizen punditry is alive in the Philippine blogosphere, and we saw this within minutes of a deadly blast at the popular Glorietta mall in Makati City, the country's financial capital. As of posting time, eight have been confirmed killed while 120 others were being treated for various...
Egypt: My Different Feelings Towards Blogging
You consciously decide to blog about your life and go into personal details. Then you realise that all your relatives and friends have been reading your blog. Now that you are exposed, are you as free as you thought you were? Egyptian blogger Mohamed El Tohamy (Aka 2-Hamy) tackles this issuehere (Ar) and writes about his new feelings towards blogging.
Taiwan: 2007 Taiwan Pride Parade
On October 13th, the fifth Taiwan Pride Parade took place in the eastern district of Taipei. Close to fifteen thousand people joined in this activity. The theme this year is “Rainbow Power.” Participants are divided into seven groups, wearing and holding seven different colors to form a huge rainbow on...
Bangladesh: Art, Brick Lane, female writers and Bangla E-Books
Enough with politics that usually dominate the posts in the Bangladeshi blogosphere. Let's start this week's round-up with some arts, movies and literature related pieces. Sid of Serious Golmal writes a well informative article on the life of S M Sultan, the master painter of Bangladesh commemorating his 13th death...
Voces Bolivianas: Two Mile High Citizen Media (Part I)
One of five Rising Voices outreach award winners, Voces Bolivianas is a participatory citizen’s media project that promotes the use of online media to allow Bolivians especially from underrepresented groups to share their stories about their lives and communities, thus deciding how they are represented.
Japan: Starving in the Land of Plenty
The recent story of a man starving to death as a result of not being able to receive welfare assistance, made famous thanks to his having documented his last days in a diary, sparked many Japanese bloggers to reflect on the broader implications of their country's welfare policy. Read some of their thoughts on the issue in today's post.
Ukraine: Tragedy in Dnipropetrovsk
On Oct. 13, a gas explosion destroyed much of a 10-story apartment building in Dnipropetrovsk, killing at least 23 people (including seven children). LJ user didaio (Denis Davydov) has been at the site of the tragedy, blogging about it ever since it occurred.
Contrivance and Controversy as Brazilian Media Cover Urban Violence
In Brazil last week, it was difficult to find blogs that did not post about the debate over the causes of urban violence. It all began on the web when people “pre-released” the leaked copy of the film ‘Elite Squad’. By now the polemic has reverberated and evolved into a...
Egypt: New Age of Phone Greetings
With Eid finally wrapped up and out of the way, Egyptian blogger Tarek Amr (Ar) takes time off to study the history of greetings - from the age of problematic phone calls to the new age of Third Generation multi-media wireless phones.
Arabeyes: After Facebook, Comes Hatebook
After Facebook, come the Hatebook. Following is what two bloggers, from Tunisia and Oman, have to say about the new sites - Hatebook.com and Hatebook.org.
