Stories from 7 April 2008
Colombia: Jimmy Carter Involved in Peace Talks?
Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter phoned Colombian president Álvaro Uribe three times in the past ten days notes Constanza Vieira of Heavy Metal Colombia [es] in regards to Carter's attempt to become involved in the peace process in Colombia.
Japan: Major Parties Cooperate to Legislate Regulation of “Harmful” Internet Content
Japanese bloggers have been making noise the past few days in reaction to two separate bills, submitted first by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP) and next by the leading opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), each aiming, in apparently similar ways, to legislate regulation over Internet content deemed to be "harmful" to minors (users under age 18). According to bloggers, the latest moves by government legislators, despite having received virtually no mainstream attention, constitute potentially the most extensive Internet regulation proposed thus far.
Russia: “Resurgent” – but “Militarily Encircled”?
Soumaya Ghannoushi believes, among other things, that “far from being a threat to the West, Russia is, in fact, a country under threat.” Her opinion piece has received over 300 comments at the Guardian's Comment is Free.
Nigeria: Climbing the Mountain of Death
Jeremy climbs the Mountain of Death in Nigeria: “Together with eight other adventurers (three Nigerians and five other oyinbos – Ellie, Kash, Olly, Luc and Diane), we had decided to climb Gangirwal (a.k.a Chappal Wadi, a.k.a the Mountain of Death), Nigeria’s tallest mountain. Gangirwal lies deep inside the park, on...
Zimbabwe: Media crakdown
Peta Thornycroft blogs about media crackdown in Zimbabwe: “There has been a heavy crackdown on Zimbabwe’s small group of journalists, many of them forced to work under cover.”
Africa: Documentaries on China/Africa relationship
Ladybrile posts two documentaries on China/Africa relationship: “The much talked about and seemingly high interest in investments by Asians in Africa is definitely intriguing. Below are two documentaries Part I &II approximately 9-10mins each on Africa/China's relationship.”
Zimbabwe: A country of starving billionaires
From My Zimbabwe today: “Now the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has rewarded the people of Zimbabwe with a new $50 000 000.00 bank note to reduce the number of notes they have to carry around.”
Zimbabwe: Recount of Presidential Ballots Unprocedural
This is Zimbabwe blog posts a press release from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights: “Should this report be accurate, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) wishes to express its grave concern at such unprocedural action which has the potential to compromise the entire electoral process.”
Cape Verde: History of amateur radio service
Jorge Sousa Brito [pt] remembers the infancy of the amateur radio service in Cape Verde, an activity which he grew up with as his father was the first person to take up the hobby in the country.
Zimbabwe: If only kids could vote
“If only kids could vote then Mugabe would have been really beaten”, says my partner's 11 year old child. “They should let us vote because there are more kids than adults. All my friends at schools want MDC to win”, she continues,” writes Comrade Fatso.
Sri Lanka: Bomb blasts and an ongoing conflict
A senior parliamentarian and one of the most important ministers in the present government was assassinated by the LTTE. The bomber is believed to have come disguised as a Marathon runner. DefenseNet gives a brief update of the incident, but the post created some heated debate and in my opinion...
Zimbabwe: Final Senate results
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has announced all Senate seats: “The final count, for those 60, is as follows: Zanu PF has 30 seats, the MDC MT has 24 seats and the MDC has 6 seats.”
Iran:Politics and Culture in the Persian Blogosphere
An excellent study about Iranian blogosphere by Harvard Berkman Center for Internet and Society:Mapping Iran’s Online Public: Politics and Culture in the Persian Blogosphere.
Japan: Next generation advertising communication
Japanese blogger Tokuriki Motohiko at tokuriki.com reviews the book [ja] “Next generation advertising communication” (次世代広告コミュニケーション) by Yokoshima Ryuji [ja]. The book considers the gap between the methods of mass marketing and those of Internet advertising, a gap which, from his one year of experience at the Agile Media Network, Tokuriki...
China: Is it Fair?
Zeng Jinyan comments on the court's verdict on Hu Jia case [zh].
Japan: Kyoto Goal
Hisane Masaki from Ohmynews International has an update on the Japan goal in greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction.
Japan: Blogs a dangerous business?
Japanese blogger Akihito at Shirokuma Nikki picks up a New York Times article about the stress of 24/7 blogging, reflecting on the attraction of blogs as a medium to connect with other people, to immediately access responses to your own thoughts, and in some cases to reach a broad level...
Iraq: A defining moment?
War in Basra... curfews in Baghdad... airstrikes on city centres... then a ceasefire... what on earth happened? As a BBC report said, the Basra operation is an empty vessel - it can be filled with any interpretation you choose. And fill it I will, with interpretations of Iraqi bloggers. Some polarised, some contradictory, but a selection that can fill the gaps that exist in current reports.
Hong Kong: Boycotting Beijing Olympic
Kursk writes in his blog that he will boycott Beijing Olympic to protest against the arrest of Hu Jia [zh].
China: Nanfang Daily anti-China?
Nanfang Daily's editor wrote an opinion post calling for free press so that local media workers could counter the distortion of western media. However, patriots attacked Nanfang Daily for committing treason. Shen Yuzhe from my1510 criticized the populist nationalistic sentiment and stressed that the best solution for Tibet conflict resolution...
Turkmenistan: Welcoming Investors
Maciula discusses the new law on foreign investments adopted last time in Turkmenistan concluding that main aim of the Turkmen authorities is to change the image of Turkmenistan on the international arena and convince the investors that Ashgabat is a credible business partner.