7 March 2008

Stories from 7 March 2008

Hindi: Cricket victory and foodie delights in Old Delhi

  7 March 2008

Every Indian cricket fan is over the moon as India handed down two successive defeats to four times and current world champions Australia in first two (of three) final matches of the Commonwealth Bank Series which saw the third team Sri Lanka make a flamboyant exit by defeating Australia in...

Japan: American enka singer makes waves

  7 March 2008

The first ever American-born enka singer, Jero, has become the talk of the Japanese blogosphere the past weeks as he made his debut with the single “Umiyuki (Ocean Snow)”. The single came in fourth on the Oricon music chart, setting a record in the enka as well as Top 10...

Japan: Editorial or fiction?

  7 March 2008

Bones at Bones’ world dissects a blog post by well-known activist Arudou Debito about the treatment of a non-Japanese crime suspect in a case of hit-and-run, arguing based on Japanese-language sources that the post is “pure fiction”.

Japan: Supreme Court declares registration system constitutional

  7 March 2008

Economist and blogger Ikeda Nobuo comments on a Supreme Court decision [ja] declaring that Japan's Net registry system (Juki Net) is constitutional. He argues that a decision against the registration system would have constituted a control on freedom of expression. He also points out that Japan's four major newspapers were...

Uzbekistan: Won’t You Be My Friend?

Patrick Frost reviews the recent developments in the Uzbekistan's foreign policy regarding the Western community, and says that US policy in Uzbekistan and the Central Asian region as a whole has become more pragmatic and less democracy promotion-driven.

Afghanistan: Women's Day Celebration

Mohammad says that the US Army sponsored the celebration of the International Women's Day, March 8, in the northern part of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. The festivities included a musical performance of an Afghanistani band and a fashion show.

China: Freedom and Welfare

  7 March 2008

Maomy posts a speech by Qin Hui (a public intellectual advocating political liberalism) at Ohmymedia, which explains his position in political reform in China: a parallel reform of freedom and welfare (zh).

Egypt: Call to Socialist Bloggers

“I’m compiling a list of revolutionary socialist bloggers who are affiliated with the International Socialist Tendency groups… If you are one of them, please email me on egyptian[dot]bolshevik[at]gmail[dot]com … Get in touch, we need to start networking more… for workers’ power and international socialism…” writes Hossam El Hamalawy from Egypt.

Japan: Sentaku: Choose Clean!

  7 March 2008

Ampontan traces the political and historical origin of the new citizen group, Sentaku (meaning choose and clean), back to 1850s modernization period.

Turkey: Pepsi or Coke?

“When you go to your favorite restaurant (even if it's a fast food one — I know you're out there), do you insist on a Coke or Pepsi, and are you disappointed when they only offer the other one?” asks Turkish blogger Metin.

Ecuador: What Should Happen With the Border Crisis

  7 March 2008

Danny Ayala Hinojosa of El Federalista [es] writes what he wants regarding this border crisis, “We want the Venezuelan and Ecuadoran troops to return to their bases,” and “We want the conflict to be resolved diplomatically and for the insults to the legitimate governments and the people and institutions that...