Stories from 21 January 2008
HiperBarrio's Citizen Journalists Bring Their Local Community Together
With just seven months of experience, the young and extremely motivated participants of HiperBarrio have blossomed into genuine citizen journalists. By rescuing their community's forgotten history, they have also helped bring it closer together.
Russia: Rating Western Democracies?
“Stung by Western assessments that Russia is becoming less free, Moscow officials say they will create a new organization of their own to ‘rate’ democracy in the U.S. and other Western countries,” Window on Eurasia reports.
Russia, Moldova: More on Natalia Morar's Case
More on journalist Natalia Morar's case – at Sean's Russia Blog (plus an interesting discussion in the comments section).
Russia: Nashi's EU Visa Problems
Sean's Russia Blog writes: “Natalia Morar is persona non grata in Russia. More and more Nashi activists are becoming persona non grata in the European Union.”
Serbia: Presidential Election
Reluctant Dragon casts his vote in New York and writes somewhat pessimistically about the results of the presidential election in Serbia.
Serbia: “Endorsed by… Bill Gates?”
Belgrade 2.0 writes about a Serbian “presidential candidate using Windows desktop wallpaper in his official campaign as well as something at the end of the video which reminds pretty much of some Windows sound.”
Slovakia: Facebook Community
Deleted by Tomorrow writes about the Slovak presence on Facebook.
Ukraine: Lutsenko, Chernovetsky, Illegal Land Deals
Ukrainiana offers extensive coverage and analysis of the recent fight between Ukraine's interior minister and Kyiv mayor, and the issue of illegal land deals – here and here.
Ukraine: Book List
A hyperlinked list of English-language books on Ukraine – at Orange Ukraine.
India: The Sound of Language
Lotus Reads reviews The Sound of Language by Amulya Malladi – a book that explores the story of an Afghan woman in Denmark.
Pakistan: On Provocation
The Pakistani Spectator on a radical right-wing politician in Holland who is planning on broadcasting a provocative anti-Muslim film.
Pakistan: Wheat and Inflation
Metroblogging Islamabad on how the price of wheat shot up – thanks to the government's premature calculations and policies.
Bangladesh: A healthy debate
Unheard Voices on the loss of a space for a healthy debate in Bangladesh.
Palestine: Gaza Under Seige
Bloggers around the region are adding their voices to an international outcry as the Gaza Strip falls into darkness. A four-day Israeli blockade on the strip has led to the closure of the territory's only power station because of the lack of fuel.
Lebanon: Ashoora and Hreeseh
From Lebanon, Rami Zurayk, introduces us to Ashoora and a local dish cooked during this occasion – Hreeseh.
Brazil: Ten facts about yellow fever in Brazil
“In the face of continuing misinformation on the current yellow fever situation in Brazil, I’ve dedicated some time to gather together a few facts about the crisis”, says Brazil Travel Blog gathering ten facts about yellow fever in Brazil based on reliable Brazilian sources. Read more on the quoted misinformation...
Morocco: Personal Freedoms
The View From Fez directs us to an ongoing post about certain freedoms in Morocco.
Morocco: Visa Issues
Daniel Sturgis: the Struggling Beach Buggy Travel Writer in Morocco questions why it's so difficult for Moroccans to get tourist visas to Canada.
Brazil: Journalism and Twitter
Raquel Recuero [pt] is surprised to discover that Twitter, a tool that she had not paid much attention to, has been widely used by both, journalists and candidates’ public relation teams, to cover the American elections. “It seems to me that, in a way, Twitter is taking up the job...
Brazil: 25 years without Garrincha
Brazil remembered this Sunday the 25th anniversary of Manuel Francisco dos Santos's death. Better known by the nickname “Garrincha“, he was an outstanding Brazilian football player who helped Brazil national team to win the World Cups of 1958 and 1962. Marcos Tchôla [pt] finds rare videos to pay homage to...
Brazil: Discrepancy in the crime rates after media censorship
Following yesterday's news that the Secretary of Social Defense (SDS) in Pernambuco, Brazil, has decided to stop providing information on violence and crime rates to the press, PE Body Count [pt] has noticed some discrepancy among the blog's and the official figures for the weekend: the bloggers have counted 48...
