Stories from 10 January 2009
Zimbabwe: Interview with urban groove artist Sanii Makhilama
Pamela Stitch interviews urban groove artist Sanii Makhilama at African Loft. She defines urban groove as “a blend of Pop, RnB, Hip Hop and Soul, infused with the notes from local indigenous musical instruments”.
Egypt: Civil disobedience and protests over Gaza
Since the beginning of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip on December 27, and Egyptian street has been boiling with angry calls to open up the Gaza border and demanding the government to put more pressure to reach an immediate ceasefire. Lasto Adri brings us the latest on the protests from the Egyptian blogosphere.
China: Antismut campaign sweeps internet. But any untold purpose?
An internet cleansing movement, or antismut campaign launched by the Chinese authority, is sweeping across the internet in recent days, targeting vulgar and obscene content. However, people doubt, it might foreshadow a larger campaign against all the critiques not in the government's favor.
Côte d'Ivoire: Former combattants’ life today
Yoro has been writing about former rebel combattants in Côte d'Ivoire at Chronique Ivoirienne [Fr], with photos of Camille Millerand. In one article, he describes the life of 10 female former combattants who fought during the 5 years of wars in Côte d'Ivoire since 2003, and who are now demobilised...
Palestine: “I do not want my kids to see me torn into pieces”
How does it feel to be unable to protect your children? In this roundup of blogs from Gaza we hear from a mother who is wracked with guilt at seeing her children's terror: "Was I mistaken to have kids in the first place? Do I not have the right to be a mother?"
Russia-Romania: Redirecting the gas flow?
Gabriela Ionita of Power&Politics Weblog discusses Russian PM's Putin comment on redirecting its gas trade through Romania in the future by way of the projected SouthStream gas pipeline.
Cameroon: Little Bright Fuh passes away
The Bright Fuh Supporters blog reports that Bright Fuh, a four year old Cameroonian boy suffering from a rare orbital tumor passed away on January 8th. George Esunge Fominyen reposted in his blog a comment left at the Friends of Bright Fuh online forum pointing at the defficiencies of Cameroonian...
Syria: Quest for Justice
Uramium Blog links to an article by an American-Jewish journalist on her take on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Georgia: U.S. Strategic Partnership Charter
Dateline Tbilisi reports that the outgoing Bush administration in Washington has signed a strategic partnership charter with Georgia which supports its territorial integrity and aspirations towards NATO membership. Although non-binding, the blog notes that the charter reportedly marks a shift towards direct military assistance for the South Caucasus republic and...
Azerbaijan: IDPs
“sIDe-tALKs” Azerbaijan visits Azeri refugees and IDPs displaced by the war with Armenia over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh in the early 1990s. The blog posts photographs of the visit and says that while attempts to integrate refugees and IDPs into Azerbaijani society have gained momentum, much more remains...
Malaysia: Campaign to boycott US goods
As a form of protest against Washington’s support for Israel, some Malaysians are boycotting U.S. products. Opinion in the Malaysian blogosphere is divided over the campaign.
Mapping the blogosphere in Brunei
More than half of Brunei's population are internet users. More and more young Bruneians are setting up their own blogs. Aside from establishing a community of bloggers, a web portal provides a comprehensive list of Brunei blogs.
China: Tibetan Plateau Meltdown
Asia Society's China green project has a series of video on the Tibetan Plateau meltdown situation.
China: Bullog.cn shut down by Net Nanny
Alice Liu reports on the shut down of Bullog.cn by net nanny at DANWEI.
China: 2008 in Poker
ESWN introduces the Chinese netizen's poker design based on major incidents of China in 2008.
Sri Lanka: Endangered Media
Indi.ca asserts that the Sri Lankan Media needs security and “at some point journalists may have to just learn how to defend themselves“.
Pakistan: Low Intensity Blasts in Lahore
Skb at Lahore Metblogs reports: “During last two hours, Lahore experienced four blasts near Alflah building on Mall Road and the recent, fifth blast is just heard near Tamaseel Theatre on Ferozpur Road.”
Japan: The future of Toyota
Michi Kaifu at Tech Mom from Silicon Valley responds to news that Toyota “crown prince” Akio Toyoda is to take the company's president position in June this year. Reflecting on the future of the car maker and on rumors in the Japanese blogosphere, Kaifu writes, “if you still have some...
Palestine: “How many deaths in Gaza is enough?”
As the Israeli attacks on Gaza continue, in this roundup of Gaza's blogs we hear about food shortages, the frustration of being stuck at home, the humour of medical workers - and a question from a young boy: "Mama – why don't the Israeli soldiers think before they shoot people?"
