Stories from 5 June 2006
World Cup Fever
As we enter the World Cup week, ripples are turning into waves and everyone is being caught by the peculiar pulse that cannot be denied. Flags are already waving, and those who were until now unaware about the gathering starts to feel a strong urge to join, or else leave the planet.
Thailand: Insensitive Television Companies
Andrew Biggs in Thailand is reporting that BBC and HBO has upset people in Southern Thailand after they put out posters calling for extras to play corpses.
Cambodia: Introducing Cambodian bloggers
Cambodian blogger Wanna introduces more Cambodian blogs written in English. The post is in French but the links to the blogs are easy to spot.
Aruba: An allegory
At The Pan Collective, ArubaGirl writes a story about dwarves and elephants — or could she be talking about something else?
African Vibrations
The football fever is on with the World Cup finals round the corner. As is the tradition different countries have come up with their football anthems to cheer on their national teams. To quote Bob Marley “Football Is Music”. A claim playup.org have taken seriously by releasing An Alternative World...
Czech Republic: Election Ends in Stalemate
On June 2 and 3, the fourth election to the Chamber of Deputies since the 1993 split of Czechoslovakia took place in the Czech Republic – and ended in stalemate. Below are some bloggers’ reports and reactions. On the day the voting began, Bob Granico of Publius Pundit posted a...
Sri Lanka: Net Neutrality and Peacebuilding
ICT for Peacebuilding reflects on net neutrality and what it means for peacebuilding processes.
Peru, Venezuela: Poll Off by 28 Points
Both Francisco and Daniel Duquenal write with glee that the North American Opinion Research poll – often seen as pro-Chavez – was off by around 28 points in their prediction that Ollanta Humala would win Sunday's Peruvian election. Duquenal can't help but add that “watching [Latin American news network] Telesur...
Chile: Complete List of Student Protest Blogs
The Chilean newspaper El Mercurio has a complete list of Chilean blogs and photoblogs maintained by protesting students throughout the country.
Mexico: Obrador and Populism
Both Michelle Dion and Greg Weeks examine the word “populism” in a recent New York Times article about Mexican presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Chilanga Banda says that the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) will stream tomorrow's presidential debate online (ES) from 6:30 to 8:30.
Nepal: Maoist Talk
More reactions after attending the mass meeting organized by the Maoists at United We Blog! . “I have been to all of them held after the 19-day movement (April). And on the stage speakers seem to lose their minds promising everything they can’t even make an attempt to think about....
Peru: Commentary on Garcia's Victory
A.M. Mora y Leon has a nearly exhaustive summary of what anglophone bloggers are saying about Alan Garcia's victory in Sunday's Peruvian presidential elections. Enrique Mendizaba, an international observer during the 2001 elections, takes a look at “the new roles of Peruvian political actors.” Boz has five talking points on...
Nepal: Silence and the Maoists
Blogdai goes to a 650,000 rally and is struck by something odd. “Something was not right. It finally occured to blogdai that the entire gathering was under an eerie pall of silence. I have never heard such silence from a group this large. No smiles no chanting, nothing. You expect...
Bangladesh: Conspiracy Theory
The 3rd World View on one more conspiracy theory. “The textile workers are protesting, bombs went off in a cinema hall:- must be international conspiracies. It seems all that can not be explained or not to be explained logically are simply branded with the term ‘international conspiracy’.”
South Asia: The Immigrant Dad in the US
Sepia Mutiny announces an online collaborative project, where readers are encouraged to send photographs of their dads who were South Asian immigrants after the 1965 Immigration Act to the US. “Remember that the main point of this is to capture through pictures what it meant to be a South Asian...
Venezuela: Getting Rid of the National Entrance Exam?
As Chilean students protest against the fees for their national entrance exam, Oil Wars says that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is considering doing away with the entrance exam entirely. But Oil Wars says that there is a better solution.
Argentina: Chauvinistic World Cup Advertising
Argentine media professor, Julian Gallo says he is tired of all the chauvinistic and overly patriotic advertisements (ES) amid World Cup hysteria and posts a video of a Quilmes advertisement to prove his point. He also posts two other videos, which he says are demonstrative of quality, non-chauvinistic publicity. Alfredo...
Belarus: Opposition's Use of Internet
Although the Belarusian opposition “is way ahead of their colleagues in pre-revolutionary Serbia, Georgia, or Ukraine” in using internet for outreach, it's neglecting more traditional ways of drawing publicity and support, writes TOL's Belarus Blog, citing the obscurity of the hunger strike in Salihorsk as an example.
Belarus: White-Red-White Flag at Roland Garros
TOL's Belarus Blog reports about the white-red-white flag of Belarus being used in Roland Garros tennis tournament broadcasts instead of the official flag.
Poland: “Dinner in Warsaw” Challenge Cancelled
A Polish reader of the Economist claimed it was impossible to find “a Briton who speaks fluent Polish.” Edward Lucas, the magazine's Central and East European correspondent, decided to prove him wrong: “I have challenged him to a dinner at a very expensive Warsaw restaurant, where I will produce a...
Belarus: 2 Banned Films at Film Festival in NYC
Iryna of TOL's Belarus Blog recommends two films on Belarus now playing in New York City; both are banned in Belarus: “I am jealous that a New York audience can see these documentaries, described by one of the critics as “rough-hewn, hard-core, must-see, front-line filmmaking,” on the screen, but hope...
