Stories from 8 December 2008
Jamaica, India: Examining Mumbai
“Why is it that nations always try to save face before saving lives? Why do the authorities always wait for disaster to strike before putting in place the necessary safeguards?”: Jamaican Annie Paul tries to make sense of the Mumbai attacks, adding that “these questions are as relevant in Kingston...
Jamaica: National to be Awarded UN Prize
Abeng News Magazine is proud that Jamaican Dr. Carolyn Gomes “was recently announced as a recipient of the prestigious United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights for 2008.”
Japan: Crisis in primary news reporting
The shifting landscape of news media in Japan has triggered its fair share of debate recently, with many criticizing the mainstream press for major slip-ups and what some perceive as an attitude problem. On August 4th in a popular entry at Hatena's AnonymousDiary, one blogger picked up the theme of the crisis of primary news reporting in Japan, recounting the story of a friend who works as a fledgling reporter at a major local newspaper.
Twittering the Ghanaian Elections
While the use of Twitter has become quite popular in some countries, it is still a very new tool in other regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa. However, it has proven to be an efficient way to quickly share information in times of political changes such as yesterday's Presidential and Parliamentary elections in Ghana as shown by this Twitter roundup.
China: Protestors and petitioners penned up into madhouse
It is a story about petitioning, protest and madhouse. Reading the story, I am almost drowned by a sense of desperation infused in what Mr. Sun has gone through all these years, but also very much touched by Mr. Shi’s courage to expose such a scandal to public. I know, this would be a story worth record, and translation.
Lawsuit takes aim at Francafrique
Cellule Francafrique [Fr] reports on a new lawsuit filed against the presidents of Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of the Congo in a court in Paris last week. The suit, brought by Transparency International and a Gabonese taxpayer, accuses the three heads of state of “concealing misappropriated public funds”.
China: Political Science Professor Denounced By Students
ESWN collects and translates local newspapers commentaries about two of his students reporting to the city's public security bureau and education committee, accusing a political science professor of making counter-revolutionary comments during a lecture.
China: Traci Lords at Hong Kong Movie
Human Flesh search engine from mainland China managed to dig up the details of an adult movie appeared at one of Stephen Chow's popular movie. The female figure is Traci Lords. See ESWN for details.
Rwanda's ‘colonization’ of Congo
Alex Engwete [Fr] on recent talks in Goma between Congolese and Rwandan officials: “Let's not kid ourselves. ‘Normalization’ is nothing less than Rwanda's implicit colonization of Congo.”
Argentina: Patricia Pérez Candidate for Nobel Peace Prize
Patricia Pérez, an HIV positive woman living in Argentina is a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work with the Network of Women Living with AIDS writes El Otro Género [es].
Mexico: Death Penalty in Chihuahua
Mexablog [es] writes that the Chihuahua governor Reyes Baeza plans to hold a referendum on whether the death penalty should be implemented in that state.
Chile: The Launch of CNN Chile
CNN recently launched a new station in Chile, and Mariana of Zancada [es] hopes that it does not turn into 24 hours of police and crime news.
Americas: Songs Supporting OLPC in Peru and Uruguay
UCPN [es] posts links to two new songs that were written to support the One Laptop Per Child projects in Peru and in Uruguay, which was written by Jorge Drexler.
Zimbabwe: Civil society campaign against state abductions
Following the abduction of Zimbabwean human rights activist Jestina Mukoko's on Wednesday the 3rd of December, Zimbabwe's Civic Action Support group has launched a campaign to stop state abductions. It is believed that state agents are behind the abduction of Jestina Mukoko as well as other recent abductions of several political and human rights activists in Zimbabwe.
Japan: How to learn a foreign language
Britty at Brittys Wake gives suggestions to Japanese about how to learn a foreign language [ja]. “There are two things that are absolutely necessary if you want to learn a foreign language. The first is time, and the second is skill in using your native language.” On the need for...
