Stories from 3 February 2008
Russia: Vasily Alexanyan
Vasily Alexanyan, a jailed Yukos executive, is said to be dying of AIDS and lymphoma cancer, but is being denied life-saving treatment. While most human rights groups in the West are silent about the case, the Russian blogosphere is quite abuzz.
Jordan: Snowmen, Women and Babes
The contest is heating up among Jordanian bloggers who are vying for the top place in making a snowman, erm, woman - prompting one blogger to call a truce. With the Internet slowing down across the Middle East, it was only natural for Jordan's bloggers to pour their creative juices elsewhere.
Kuwait: Crazy Month Rolls By
It's been a 'crazy' period of life at the Kuwaiti blogosphere, reports Abdullatif Al Omar - from crazy weather patterns to nutty Internet connections and price hikes.
China: Lunar new year approaches with tragedy growing
Crisis looms large across the south part of the country with the 2008 China Snowstorm showing no signs of letting up. Trains are trapped [zh] on tracks, cars stuck on highways, flights have been delayed and canceled up and down the east coast and at least one woman has been...
Brazil: Police is after lieutenant blogger
There are more than 100 comments showing solidarity with lieutenant blogger Melquisedec Nascimento [pt]. According to him, Rio de Janeiro's Governor Sergio Cabral ordered yesterday that he was arrested immediately. The Police force in charge of the task paid visit to his home this Saturday, but he was nowhere to...
D.R. of Congo: Closer look at peace agreement
A closer look at the peace agreement in the Democratic Republic of Congo: “Average number of signatures per page: 40, Signatories using blue pens: 35, Signatories using black pens: 3 (Alan Doss, new UN SRSG; Dennis Kalume, Interior Minister; Didier Bitaki Wateshe, Kifuafua Mai Mai group), Signatories using green pens:...
D.R. of Congo: Author and blogger disagree on Congo
Kinshasa based blogger, Fred, writes: “Rory MacLean has done me the honour of responding to my recent post, berating him for writing, in a review of Tim Butcher’s Blood River for The Guardian, that ‘there is little difference between the Congo seen by Stanley and by Butcher’, and suggesting that...
Armenia: Hollywood & Reality
Going Home says that films such as Speed might seem believable in Hollywood, but the reality in Armenia is somewhat different. In particular, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, the blogger cites traffic, law enforcement and corruption in the country as just some of the reasons why nobody would ever plant a bomb on...
Discovering the Peruvian Carnival
The author of Tordesilhas [pt], a blog by a Brazilian living in Lima, is surprised to discover that there is a beautiful tradition of carnival in Peru. In this post, he explores the Cajamarca, Ayacucho and the Amazon areas carnival.
Juliana Rincón: A multi-tasking blogger
Meet Juliana Ricón Parra, a multi-tasking blogger from Peru, now living in Colombia. She has been a Global Voices Author for two years and has just started a new role as Video Editor. Juliana talks about blogging, her participation in the citizen media project HiperBarrio, the new challenges in her professional life and the lovely South American food.
Armenia: Effects of Corruption
Bruce Tasker, an expat worker currently attempting to claim damages from the World Bank for blacklisting, continues to allege widespread high-level corruption in government and the international money-lending organization. His Blowing the World Bank Whistle now takes a look at the effects of that alleged corruption.
Armenia: Revolution in the Making?
Archuk's blog saysthat the return of Levon Ter-Petrossian to the political scene in Armenia for the 19 February presidential election is part of some external plan to normalize and stabilize the South Caucasus . The blogger asks “Who woke up Levon Ter-Petrossian?”
Armenia: On the Campaign Trail
Saturday saw the prime minister and still presidential favorite campaign on my doorstop. My Armenia Election Monitor 2008 has an account as well as photos from the free concert staged by Armenia's top pop stars, including this year's Eurovision Song Contest contestant, Sirusho in his support.
Japan: How many Japanese blogs are there?
On January 22, blogger smashmedia asked readers of his blog to answer a questionnaire [ja] on the topic of: “How many blogs are there in Japan?” [ja] In another post [ja], smashmedia reports that respondents on average estimated the number of Japanese blogs at 2.44 million. Other results: 23% answered...
Japan: Newspapers launch news portal “Aratanisu”, bloggers respond
Three of Japan's largest newspapers, Nikkei Inc., Asahi Shimbun Co. and Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings on Thursday together launched a new online news portal referred to as "Aratanisu", aiming to provide side-by-side coverage of news stories from each newspaper to allow readers to easily draw comparisons. Bloggers in Japan have reacted with skepticism to the new service, however, pointing to issues like the absence of RSS feeds and a general lack of understanding among traditional media of the value of content presentation.
Korea: What would you do if you encounter behavior that goes against social norms?
When you encounter people or behavior against social norms, what do you do? If it is especially from the underage, do you feel some responsibility to do something as an adult? Would your concern be taken as as pure as you intend? A netizen on a portal site asks for...
