Stories from December, 2008
Fiji: Offensive ads
Oceanic writes about the debate over the culturally inappropriate ads in Fiji.
Fiji: Dispute over local jobs
A government infrastructure project in Fiji was delayed after local residents demanded that workers in the project should come from the local community.
Myanmar: Pictures of fishing villages
dawn_109 went to the delta region of Myanmar, and posted pictures of fishing villages which were destroyed by a deadly cyclone last May.
Myanmar: Political prisoner commits suicide
A 35-year old political prisoner in Myanmar committed suicide after authorities refused to give him proper medical treatment.
Myanmar: Nine activists arrested during peaceful march
It’s not a happy new year for nine members of the National League for Democracy who were arrested near the Parliament building in Rangoon, Myanmar on Tuesday while demanding for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.
From Britain to Morocco to Gaza
Reda Blog, on what connects Prince Edward's animal cruelty, the Moroccan police's crackdown on protesters, and the Gaza bombings.
Chile: Santa Claus the Bus Driver in Santiago
Paloma Beytelman boarded a bus in Santiago, Chile to find the driver dressed as Santa Claus, who continues this tradition every year to entertain passengers [es]. She filmed a short interview with the driver and his wife, who accompanies him on this occasion.
Moroccan, Tunisian bloggers on the Gaza bombings: ‘Innocents pay the price’
Continuing the coverage of reactions to Israel's bombing of Gaza, translations of what bloggers in Morrocco and Tunisia have written about the recent violence.
Russia: A Muslim Trade Union?
Window on Eurasia writes that Central Asian migrant workers in the Urals are considering forming a “Muslim trade union.”
Chile: Creative Commons Licensed Album Nominated for Prize
Creative Commons Chile [es] applauds the album by Antonio Díaz titled Minimental, which was recently nominated for the Qwartz Prize in France. The highlight is that this album is licensed under Creative Commons.
Egypt: Down sizing Car factory
In the middle of everybody's talk about Gaza's siege and Israeli brutal attack on Palestinians, Egyptian blogger Zeinobia is asking people not to forget Egyptian internal affairs. In her new post, “Don't forget the inner line” , she highlights the Government's new decision to downsize the Nasr Car Factory as...
Egypt: Solidarity with Palestine
Since they’ve heard, Egyptian Bloggers expressed their immediate solidarity with their Palestine brothers against the brutal attack. Everybody condemned the Siege, as well as the blind Israeli bombings that does not differentiate between killing militants or civilians, women, children and men. Mostafa launched a Jaiku channel to pass news about...
India, Bangladesh: Explaining South Asian Politics
Santosh at Über Desi explains the results of the Bangladesh parliamentary election: “Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party won because it was time for a change. The last elected government was formed by Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Yes, politics in South Asia can be explained in such simplistic terms.“
Pakistan: Remembering Benazir Bhutto
Adil Najam at All Things Pakistan wonders if Benazir Bhutto had not been killed would things have been different for Pakistan?
Bangladesh: A Landslide Victory Is Not A Mandate For One Party Anarchy
Shada Kalo reminds the Awami League led Grand Alliance after their win in Bangladesh elections held yesterday: “A landslide victory does not mean a license to mess with the constitution or the civil rights of people.”
India: A Guide To The Biggest Moments in Indian blogging History
Pramit Singh at MediaVidea provides a guide to the biggest moments in Indian blogging history.
India: The Top Five Newsworthy Events in the Indian Blogosphere in 2008
Gaurav Mishra at Gauravonomics digs into the Indian Blogosphere to find the top five events in 2008, in which the Indian blogosphere itself became newsworthy.
Burning the Year Away: New Year Traditions
In many South American countries, it has become a tradition to burn human shaped representations of the previous year, as a way to get rid of everything bad that the year brought, and leave way for the new. The following videos show some of these traditions and some of the controversy soome of them have sparked.
Ghana: Tired of dirty politics
Omanba of Ghanaconscious criticizes politics in Ghana as pressuring people with “with negativity and scandalous innuendos”. For him the recent presidential elections have brought “the worst of humankind in Ghana”.
Israel: Debunking Israeli arguments about Gaza
Mo-ha-med, who is based in Israel, outlines why he believes all the “pre-packaged pseudo-arguments” for attacking Gaza won't stand up.
Palestine: “In Gaza it's 9/11 every hour, every minute, everywhere”
In this post, a Gazan blogger far from home, seeing the death and destruction taking place there, asks, "Who was born in bloodied Gaza today?" And an Italian human rights activist describes a woman searching for her husband in the morgue, who recognised the wedding ring on his hand - all that was left of him.