19 May 2006

Stories from 19 May 2006

Russia: Blogger Dies on Mount Elbrus

Aleksandr Antonov (aka LJ user caesar_rb) 1979-2006 Aleksandr Antonov's last LJ post was a very happy one: he was going on a two-week vacation to conquer Mount Elbrus. Here's what he wrote on April 30 (RUS), as LJ user caesar_rb: I'm going to Elbrus! So, my dear comrades, I'm leaving...

Nepal: Parliament Declaration

  19 May 2006

A historic Parliament Declaration in Nepal announces the revival of democracy. It's a complete turn-around from where the country was about two months back. United We Blog! covers the day.

India: Why is Tamil Nadu quiet?

  19 May 2006

As the rest of the country takes up strong demonstrations against the reservations quota, Nathanworld wonders why one particular state doesn't seem to be making too much noise.

India: Blogs and Conversations

  19 May 2006

Reshma appears to have been battling to figure out how to index her posts on blogger, and reflects “Depending on the metaphor you identify with, will influence whether you use it to ‘express’ or ‘exchange’ opinions and views; the frequency with which you post; the content that you post (topical...

Sri Lanka: Last-Mile Hazard Information Dissemination

  19 May 2006

LIRNEAsia on the launch of the HazInfo Project “LIRNEasia launched the first phase of the Last-Mile Hazard Information Dissemination (HazInfo) project funded by IDRC, along with its project partners Sarvodaya, the largest community organization in Sri Lanka and TVE Asia Pacific (TVEAP), a non-profit media organization working in the Asian...

Bangladesh: Loss of secularism

  19 May 2006

Drishtipat reflects on the loss of secularism in Bangladesh, seeing the example of Nepal revising its constitution. “After 15th August 1975, we lost one of the greatest assets of our natonal idenitity, i.e. our constitutional declaration of secularism.”

Ukraine: New Mayor Against Teachers

Scott W. Clark of Foreign Notes writes about Kyiv's new mayor's alarming first steps: “We know someone who is a teacher in the Kiev district. She tells us that Chernovetsky [new mayor] has taken away the bonus that Omelchenko [ex-mayor] gave them for some reason. She says he's anti-teacher but...

Belarus: Yury Radzivil Trial

TOL's Belarus Blog reports on the trial of Yury Radzivil: “Yury faces 6 years in prison just for actually being almost killed. The man who has shot few times in his car is now victim in this case, and Yury is accused for driving him over. Actually, “victim” is colonel...

Poland, Russia: Sciagawki/Shpargalki

Edward Lucas, Central and East European correspondent of the Economist, writes about sciagawki: cheat sheets used by Polish students to survive exams, which are “largely a memory test.” Tom Adshead of The Future of Russia points out in the comments section that sciagawki is shpargalki in Russian – and that...

Russia: No-Hot-Water Season Begins

Owen of Lex Libertas writes about a very common occurence in Russia: as it gets warmer, it becomes more and more difficult to take a shower – because of the lack of hot water. It's been four days without it for Owen now and there are more days ahead: “I...

Grenada's Chinese Village

  19 May 2006

From the Caribbean Free Photo photoblog: This rather quaint archway marks the entrance to the construction site for Grenada's new National Stadium in Queen's Park, which is being built with funding, expertise and manpower provided by the People's Republic of China. With 500-plus construction workers from China living and working...

Argentina: Free Wi-Fi for Buenos Aires

  19 May 2006

Chilean blogger Leo Prieto inspires applause in the comments for Buenos Aires Mayor Jorge Telerman's announcement [ES] that the city will provide its citizens with free wi-fi access. One commenter responds, “we Chileans are always copycats with bad ideas, why not copy these good ones?”

Blogging, The New Journalism Frontier

  19 May 2006

Este artículo también está disponible en español. The following article addresses five questions asked by university faculty member and digital journalism advocate, Zinnia Martínez, in her weblog, Periodismo Interactivo. The questions were the following: • How journalism has been incorporated into Venezuelan blogosphere? • What Venezuelan blogosphere add to Venezuelan...

Brazil: Leftist Origins of Last Weekend's Violence

  19 May 2006

Luis Afonso explains why he believes 60's leftists radicals were the origin of last weekend's crime wave in Sao Paulo and much of Brazil. Andrew of Comings Communique, after watching the violence on TV wrote, “tonight for the first time I heard my wife express the opinion that perhaps Brazil...