Stories from 21 July 2008
South Korea: Dokdo Demonstrations
CINA collects local reports and photos on demonstrations against the Japanese textbook territorial claim over Dokdo islets.
China: 10 Political Myths
Ran Yunfei listed out 10 political myths in China, such as talks about savior, people, liberation, election, and etc.
Ecuador: Interest in Literature Continues
The ExpoLibro 2008 (Guayaquil Book Fair) recently came to a close, which according to organizers, drew hundreds of thousands of visitors with more than 210 stands. This proves that the reading is not dead, as had been predicted with the arrival of the internet. Interest in literary works is alive in well in Ecuador and during this past week, four authors contributed to the culture and literature of the country.
China: Right Activists Arrested in Earthquake Zone
Ran Yun-fei re-posted a joint letter protesting against the arrest of Huang Qi and other right activists in Sichuan earthquake areas. The excuse of the arrest is “illegal possession of state secret”.
Colombia: Freedom March Around the World
After the rescue of 15 high profile hostages held in the FARC's power on July 2nd 2008, the same group that organized the last global march on February 4th against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) decided that there should be a another one on July 20th, the day when Colombia's Independence from Spain is celebrated. The following videos and photographs show the way this Independence celebration and liberation march was celebrated around the world, and also some of the contrasting thoughts regarding the meaning of nation and freedom.
Japan: Mainichi's “Foreign Staff”
In the latest step in a long and drawn out controversy, Mainichi newspaper has issued a 3-page official apology in response to the harsh backlash concerning its English-language WaiWai column. Blogger polimediauk responds to the news, questioning the tendency to divide foreign and Japanese staff at the English-language Mainichi site and treat them differently.
El Salvador: A Visit to El Mozote
Tim Muth recently visite the site of El Mozote in El Salvador, which had been the site of a massacre during that country's civil war. He writes, “intellectually I knew what had occurred almost 27 years ago, but the impact of actually being at the site of such horror was...
Colombia: Google in Support of Colombia
Google displayed a Colombian flag on its main search page in support of peace in the country notes Café GuaGuau [es].
Costa Rica: Towards a Lay State
Sergio from La Foto Salio Movida [es] believes that Costa Rica should become a lay state, which “would help us improve the political and social maturity….and that this would not attack Catholicism at all, or the free exercise of religion, and on the contrary, it would help treat others equally...
Malawi: Slow bureaucracy at the road traffic office
Victor Kaonga describes his two-day bureaucratic “adventure” at the road traffic office in Lilongwe, in Malawi.
Oman: A Day at the Supermarket
Omani blogger Muscati takes us on his weekly shopping expedition to the supermarket!
Bahrain: Violence in Child Play
Bahraini Ammaro is annoyed that some rides for children advocate violence. Click on his post to see what he is talking about.
