Stories about Weblog from January, 2008
Kenyan Bloggers back to “almost” normal life
After the unfortunate crisis following the presidential election in Kenya, Kenyan bloggers are back to normal business writing about a variety of non-political subjects.
Armenia: Political Blogging Intensifies
The past week was eventful, and while the traditional media in Armenia were pondering their adequate response so as to avoid “unnecessary complications”, the Armenian Internet community were discussing the comings and goings of the current political scene at full speed. The start of the week was marked by yet...
Morocco: Censorship Update
2006 was a rough year for Moroccan internet freedoms, with several sites being blocked; 2007 wasn't much better with sites that were previously open becoming only sporadically accessible. Moi, dans tous mes états (fr) summarized freedom of internet (as well as other forms of media) in a recent post: A...
Ukraine: A Porous Border
Ukrainian news site Korrespondent.net posted a translation of a Sunday Times story on Ukraine's porous borders and illegal migration. The English-language original has received 16 reader comments so far, the Russian translation - 88 comments. While many readers admitted that the problem of illegal migration existed in Ukraine and that corruption among officials contributed to it, most did not seem happy about the Sunday Times' story.
Environment: Global roundup of Enviroblogs.
Environmental blogs around the world are addressing a myriad issues specific to their region, but of global concern. In DRC the Gorilla Protection blog is pondering what a peace deal would mean for Gorillas. From China Dialogue, a look at what is next after the Bali climate change conference, and from South Africa, we have reactions to the recent power shortages and an eco-car competition.
Touring Libyan Blogs: broken hearts country
If I were superstitious, I would have said that the evil eye has hit the Libyan bloggers. A month before Valentine's Day, a larger than usual number has caught the heartbreak bug, and the bigger than life problems' caravan. It's a bullet train sweeping everything in its path, men and women being equally affected, writes Fozia Mohamed.
Barbados: Blogs in Danger?
Barbadian blogs are some of the most outspoken in the Caribbean, regularly taking politicians and mainstream media to task for issues such as transparency and public accountability. Are they in danger? Barbadian bloggers are talking about it...
Syria: Bloggers React to Gaza Blockade
As Israel continues its blockade on the strip, humanitarian conditions dip lower and lower. And while the Middle East shivers under the exceptional weather conditions, Gazans find themselves without fuel for heat or electricity. Yazan Badran records the reactions of Syria's bloggers on the unfolding tragedy.
Tajikistan: The ice age. Now
Despite the fact that the long-awaited hydropower station Sangtuda-1 in Tajikistan has been launched, the population still does not feel the changes. It is worth of mentioning that only the first (out of four) turbines was launched and the other three will be on till the end of this year....
Japan: Insider trading at public broadcaster NHK (Part 1)
Japan's public broadcaster NHK faces yet another controversy, with revelations of insider trading by three NHK employees on shares of Kappa Create Company. This first part of a two-part series features a translation of two very popular posts by blogger and economist Ikeda Nobuo, once an employee of NHK, who provides details about the 20-year-old pre-broadcast reporting system that led to the news leak.
Venezuela: Blogger Picks Political “Oops” Moments
Venezuela faced plenty of controversies in 2007, with some of its principal political actors finding ways to stick their foots in their mouths. Blogger More Baker looks back and picks her favorite "oops" moments of 2007, with their accompanying memorable phrases.
Serbia: The Presidential Election
The presidential election in Serbia was held on Jan. 20. The Republic's Electoral Commission confirmed that the Serb Radical Party's candidate Tomislav Nikolic beat the other nine candidates. He received 39.4 percent of the votes, followed by Boris Tadic, the current Serbian president, who got 35.42 percent.
Korea: Have you been pressed down by scissors?
Have you heard about ‘your body is pressed down by scissors?’ When I was kid, I heard adults sometimes tell each other they were pressed down by scissors the previous night and talked about horrible ghost stories. I didn’t understand what it was until I experienced it one time. I...
Israel: Israeli Bloggers Respond to Crisis in Palestine
Israel's bloggers take to their keyboards to express their frustration at the one-sided coverage of the crisis in Gaza, Palestine. Maya Norton rounds up their reactions in this post.
Morocco: Ashoura and Fashion
Morocco is celebrating Ashoura, the 10th day of the month of Moharram (which is the first month of the Hijra calendar year). In other news, dress was a prominent subject amongst Moroccan bloggers over the weekend as well, reports Jillian York.
Egypt: Gaza In the Headlines
Eman Abd Al Rahman brings us the latest headlines from the Egyptian blogosphere decrying the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza. A four-day blockade has plunged Gaza in darkness, sparking international calls and anger on the Arab street to stop the carnage.
Social Media Outreach: Non-Profits are the Key
We often talk about extending the global conversation to every corner of the world with the available social media tools. Non-profits and NGO's, which have a wider influence on the population of the developing countries, have the capacity to use this technology in an wider scale and create a communication revolution among the people they serve.
Japan: Illegal or Harmful?
Blogger Sakiyama Nobuo, a social activist who has covered the area of web censorship in Japan for many years, early last week responded to a conversation initiated by fellow blogger Minakata Tsukasa on the topic of the regulation of so-called "harmful" websites. The blog entry provides a useful overview of the current state of legal controls on Internet content in Japan, something which may come in handy in the future.
Pitch Black Gaza: Jordanian Bloggers React!
As the Israeli onslaught in Gaza continues this week, the death toll continues to climb. With many of the dead being civilians and the European Union labeling the Israeli offensive as 'collective punishment', the situation has not sat well with Jordanian bloggers. Here's what they had to say in the past few days.
Japan: The Whistle of the Middle East
The sport of handball is receiving the kind of attention from the media and general public it never has before in Japan, as well as in Korea. The dispute came to light when Korea and Japan together appealed to the International Handball Federation for replay of the Olympics qualifiers of...
