10 August 2008

Stories from 10 August 2008

Georgia: U.S. Complicity?

  10 August 2008

A Fistful of Euros comments on speculation that the United States might have effectively given Georgia the green light for military operations in South Ossetia. If so, the blog says, such a move was “one of the most indefensible things the Bush Administration has done in the last few years.”

Georgia: Protest Photos

  10 August 2008

Regional Reporters [RU] posts photographs of protests in Tbilisi protesting Russian military action in Georgia. The photographs can be found in two separate posts here and here.

Georgia: Calmness in Gori

  10 August 2008

Regional Reporters [RU] reports that calmness has descended on the Georgian town of Gori following bombing raids by Russian jets. However, the blog says that bread is in short supply and some shops have none at all.

ASEAN's 41st anniversary

  10 August 2008

ephraim posts a speech of Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Day reception. Mr. Yeo stressed that people in the region “must increasingly internalise a sense of ASEAN citizenship.”

Thailand wins a gold medal

  10 August 2008

Fable, a Brit-American blogger in Bangkok congratulates Thailand for winning a gold medal in the 2008 Olympics. She also explains why the Olympics TV coverage in Thailand is better than in the US.

Philippines: Technology and city development

  10 August 2008

Filipino blogger Our Awesome Planet is an admirer of a city mayor who vows to transform a small city into a world class city by leveraging on technology to solve social issues. The mayor also plans to build the first 100% WIMAX city in the Philippines.

Philippines: Charcoal factory

  10 August 2008

Filipino jounalist and blogger Iris Cecilia Gonzales posts an article and several pictures about a make-shift charcoal factory in Manila.

Georgia, Russia: More Reports On the Conflict From Russophone Bloggers

  10 August 2008

Blogging from the Georgian port city of Poti, which was bombed by Russian fighter jets shortly after midnight Saturday, LJ user pepsikolka wrote: "It was quiet during the night, but no one went to bed. There's no TV, we're reading the news from our phones. Scary. My friend, a colleague, has been wounded, and there are the dead ones [...]. I've no reason to lie, and those commenters who have doubts just don't know anything about me, I am Russian myself, and that's why I'm writing about facts here, so that you knew, we are alive, but scared. I want peace and this is all." More reports and views in the translation below.

South Ossetia: Olympic Truce

  10 August 2008

Often overshadowing the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing in the international media, the conflict between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia has started to raise questions about what the international sporting event is meant to represent. With military action coinciding with the opening of the games, some bloggers are reminding readers of the Olympic Truce.

South Ossetia: Georgia, Russia and the U.S. Presidential Election

  10 August 2008

With the massive deployment of Russian forces in Georgia, the small South Caucasus country's conflict with Moscow over the breakaway region of South Ossetia has obvious political ramifications thousands of miles away in the United States where presidential elections will be held on 4 November. With some alleging that the crisis reflects a struggle between the West and Russia, where the U.S. Presidential candidates stand on the matter is fast becoming a significant campaign issue.

Korea: Why did Bush come to Korea?

  10 August 2008

Bush’s visit to Korea for one night and two days on the fifth of August made a lot of people busy: A big group who welcomed his visit in one street of Seoul, another big group who were opposed to his visit in the other street of Seoul, the police...

China: Citizen reporter to be deported

  10 August 2008

The day after live-vlogging the rare phenomenon that is a loud Free Tibet protest in the middle of Tiananmen Square, Noel ‘noneck’ Hidalgo has just tweeted that he is to be deported. Guess he wasn't using Tor.

Kuwait: Release Hussein Al Fudalah Now

On July 7, Kuwaiti Hussein Al Fudalah left his home to go fishing and was never seen again. A few days later his family got the news that he was detained in neighbouring Iran. And while Kuwait's newspapers are turning a blind eye to Hussein's plight, one Kuwaiti blogger thinks that enough is enough and is running an online campaign to draw more attention to the captured fisherman.