· April, 2007

Stories about Weblog from April, 2007

China: Reactions to the Virginia Tech slayings

While most Chinese shared the horror and grief following the slayings at Virginia Tech, one prominent blogger asks why so little attention was paid to two similar tragedies which also took place this week in China.

19 April 2007

Tajikistan: Cultural Faux Pas or Nation Building?

No more golden teeth, mobile phones in lecture halls, hijabs, sexy clothes - and from now on even no more Russian name endings! What's behind Tajikistan's recent flurry of cultural legislation? Are we witnessing a reincarnation of Turkmenistan's deceased dictator Turkmenbashi or simply a young nation's right to self-determination? Bloggers from Central Asia and beyond offer their opinions.

19 April 2007

Lusosphere Reports The First Round of East Timor's Elections

Timor-Leste is holding its first national election as an independent nation, and the vote counting now indicates the need for a second round to decide the next President. The voting occurred on April 9 and the counting process has generated some perplexing news, which should be expected in a country with no previous electoral experience. Less expected was the fact that the spokesman for the National Electoral Commission (CNE), Father Martinho Gusmão, delivered his press conferences in four languages one after the other -- Tetum, Portuguese, Indonesian and English. After raising serious concerns by personally expressing doubts about 'illogical' outcomes from the ballot processing, Father Gusmão was removed and explanations were presented by other officials. See what Portuguese sources are reporting...

18 April 2007

Taiwan: Fabricated News

On March 28th, TVBS, the TV station which has been long mocked as “TV Bull Shit”, broadcast some footage that caught the public's eyeballs. The footage, which showed gangster Chou...

18 April 2007

Visiting the Peruvian Blog Village

This time around we'll visit some blogs that we haven't seen before. Blogs of another type; the sort that perhaps do not catch you attention at first glace if your interests lie in politics or cyber-activism, but blogs that have their place and their followers just the same. We must always walk with a careful eye; sometimes the diamonds are where we least expected. So let's explore a little.

17 April 2007

Russia: Dissenters’ March in Moscow (1)

The volume of blog coverage of the weekend's opposition rallies in Moscow and St. Petersburg is truly overwhelming - as overwhelming, perhaps, as the number of riot police deployed from all over Russia to disperse these rallies - but nowhere near as shocking.

17 April 2007

Landing at the Iraqi Blogodrome

The day I lost my hair mother had dragged me out to shop the wait for lulls in incessant crossfire had not come to a stop and the children were...

17 April 2007

Turkey is Typing…Presidential Protests

As the Turkish Presidential race begins to gear up, the Republic of Turkey once again finds itself torn between the ideals of a secularist or Islamist state. This week was marked by protests and editorial after editorial of speculation about the future of Turkey and whether the ideals of democracy will survive the next election.

17 April 2007

Taiwan: Transport what to where?

In the essay on outdoor recreation, ‘Conservation Esthetic,’ Professor Leopold wrote, ‘Recreational development is a job not of building roads into the lovely country, but of building receptivity into the...

17 April 2007

Interview with Digital Kalashinkov, Journalist and Blogger

Blogs are the most free media in Iran and have found their own place in society. The blogs have pushed the boundaries ... Reformist politicians have given importance to bloggers. And conservative politicians, little by little, have disocovered the importance of being part of this new media. Of course they have a lot of enemies too.

17 April 2007

Bangladesh: Celebrating Bangla New Year 1414

Shuvo Bangla Noboborsho (Happy Bengali New Year) to everyone. April 14th was the first day of the Bangla year 1414 also known as Pohela Baishakh. In Bangladesh, this day is a national holiday and in West Bengal it is a public holiday. Now Bangladeshi bloggers will take us through the history, culture and celebrations of this event.

16 April 2007