Stories from 24 April 2008
Malaysia: Woman molested by an Ex-Cabinet Minister?
Aarvidi’s Weblog comments on a news report of a woman alleging that a former Malaysian cabinet minister had molested her in a hotel.
Trinidad & Tobago: Sticker Shock
KnowPRosE.com “was pleasantly surprised to find that the Trinidad Guardian subscription is available on Amazon.com” – and then he saw the price: “I suppose Trinidad and Tobago media just doesn't want to compete at a global level…They need to figure out the Internet, which probably means that they should use...
Barbados, Jamaica: Up In Arms
“Twenty-eight years after Bob performed ‘Zimbabwe’, Robert Mugabe is still holding on desperately to power and it seems that he will use any tactic necessary to continue his dictatorship. Now the Chinese are involved”: Both Bajan Global Report and Jamaican Geoffrey Philp blog about an alleged Chinese arms shipment to...
Israel: Modern Day Exodus, on African Refugees and their Right for Medical Care
Around 6,000 African refugees escaped the horrors in their countries, and seek refuge in Israel. Many of them live in harsh conditions and can be spotted shivering cold on the streets of southern Tel-Aviv. The insensitive behavior from the side of the Israeli government comes only tens of years after the holocaust, when Jews came to the same plot of land, seeking refuge from the horrors of Europe, writes Gilad Lotan, who shows us how a group of bloggers are volunteering to draw a smile on the faces of countless of destitute refugees.
Jamaica, Guyana: Evolution
Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp features a poem by Guyanese writer Cyril Dabydeen.
St. Lucia: Oil and Food Prices
As oil prices hit US $120 per barrel, Looshan Ramblings says: “The…continued rise in oil prices will negate any efforts by Caricom governments to reduce food prices as we are so heavily dependent on imported food.”
Guyana: Who Let The Dogs Out?
Guyana-Gyal‘s neighbourhood could do with a dog whisperer.
Korea: Roh Moo Hyun and Japanese Netizens
The previous Korean President, Roh Moo Hyun, as I wrote a previous post, ‘ Roh Moo Hyun Syndrome (March 30, 2008)’ has become famous even after his retirement due to his casual life style. While he generated hyeom-han gam-jeong (Japanese antipathy against Korea) during his governance, his life has been...
Georgia: Drone Downed
Registan comments on the latest scandal to hit Russian-Georgian relations after the alleged shooting down of an apparently unarmed Georgian drone by what appears to be a Russian MiG-29. For a variety of reasons outlines in the post, the blog concludes that the true circumstances of the incident may never...
Armenia: Alternative Genocide Action
Hrag Vartanian remembers an unconventional action staged thirty-nine years ago by American-Armenian artist Kardash Onnig outside an Armenian Church in New York. The protest which called on ethnic Armenians to “Un-hate a Turk” was held on 24 April, the day Armenians worldwide remember the 1915 Armenian Genocide.
Brazil: Making a child murder into a media show
A child dies under mysterious circumstances. Her father and stepmother are the prime suspects chosen by the media and general public since the beginning, but the official investigations are still under way. Is it fair to lead 160 million people to believe someone is guilty of killing his own daughter before the final official pronunciation on the matter? What is around, and behind, the full time reality-show coverage made by the Brazilian media in cases like this? The Brazilian blogosphere talks.
Kazakhstan: Chevron to Face New Fine
Zhanna Zhukova informs the redaers that Kazakhstan’s government threatens U.S. oil major Chevron with a fine equivalent to $309 million for alleged environmental violations.
Turkmenistan: Problems of the Opposition
Maciula writes about the condition and problems of the Turkmen oposition and claims that the West has little chance to exert pressure on the Turkmen authorities to make the political system more democractic.
Kyrgyzstan: Controversy over Military Base
Elena tells about the situation around incident in Kant, location of the Russian airbase in Kyrgyzstan, where a 24-year Russian citizen was seriously wounded by Kyrgyz police.
Kazakhstan: New Capital's PR in Action?
Adam reports on the highly praiseful and therefore suspicious report by Voice of America about the Kazakhstan’s new capital, whose 10th anniversary is to be widely celebrated in the country this summer.
Afghanistan: Rising Numbers of Suicide Bombings
Patrick Frost tells about an upcoming US government report describing a dramatic increase in suicide bombings in the last five years with Iraq and Afghanistan being the location of a large majority of these attacks.
China: Tibetan Intellectuals Arrested
Woeser blogs the background of 6 Tibetan intellectuals who were arrested in Qing Hai in March 31 and April 1[zh]. They are teacher, singers, artist and writer.
Brazil: Improving the police by the inside
The Blog da Segurança Pública [“Public Security Blog”, in Portuguese], from Brasília, lists 10 possible and affordable improvements[Pt] that would make Brasília policemen's lives better, thus improving their performance at their work too. The blog reports successful experiences made by the police of other Brazilian states.
China: GFW-ed Media Research
ESWN translated a local media research on three big news agencies’ Olympic torch relay report. Beifeng pointed out that the research result had been affected by the Great Fire wall (also via ESWN translation.)
China: CNN, Media and Market
Yang Hengjun wrote a very elaborated article on the CNN bias in reporting about Middle East and China. A crucial factor is the patriotic sentiment after 911 which reshaped the media market and the major victims of the bias are overseas Chinese [zh].
China: Anti-CNN Virtual Demonstration
Some netizens in China have organized a virtual demonstration against western media and in support of the Beijing Olympics at the Second City (a virtual game). via Anti-CNN.
