Stories from 23 January 2009
Russia: Putin's Painting
Eternal Remont writes about Vladimir Putin's painting: “Hitler would be jealous.” LJ user olegpanfilov2 posts two samples of Photoshopped spinoffs inspired by Putin's painting – one of them features Mikhail Khodorkovsky behind bars (there are many more in the comments section to this post by LJ user tema).
Ukraine, Canada: Crossword House, Varenyk and Pysanka
LJ user alex-pingvin posts a picture of a “crossword house” on Andrey Sakharov St. in Lviv. Flickr user mariyaz posts pictures of “the biggest dumpling ever (Ukrainian pyrogy) in Glendon (Alberta, Canada)” and of “a monument of Ukrainian Easter Egg in Vegreville (Canada).”
Egypt: Bloggers Divided over Geert Wilders
Amsterdam Appeals Court decided that Geert Wilders, Dutch MP, will be put on trial for his views on Islam. Wilders, and his movie had caused a huge anger wave last year, with both sides denouncing each other. While Perwin Ali thought he deserves to be tried, An Egyptian is blogging for his release.
Angola: Controversy and Contradictions Over New Airports
The construction of new international airports for Luanda, one of them costing seventy-four million US dollars, is a controversial subject that has set bloggers talking in Angola. Does the city really need more than one good international airport?
African Blogs Nominated for the 2009 Bloggies
Nominations for the Ninth Annual Weblog Awards: The 2009 Bloggies started January 1 and closed January 19. According to the awards, the Bloggies are the Web's longest-running blog awards, and the nominations, finalist selection, are up to the blog reader. The winner of the awards gets 2,009 US cents! So, which African blogs have been nominated for the Best African Weblog category?
Liberia: Photos Of Liberians Watching Obama
Scarlett Lion posts photos of Liberians watching Barack Obama's inauguration.
Bolivia: Dealing With Dengue Fever
Heavy rains in the Bolivian Orient help create the breeding ground for mosquitos that spread the virus that causes dengue fever. There is also a much more severe form which causes dengue hemorrhagic fever and has already caused 3 deaths in the country. One blogger writes about firsthand experience with this illness.
Cuba, U.S.A.: An Important Introduction
“The man is worth your support, and then some, especially after he was arrested while traveling to Havana to watch your inauguration as a guest of the U.S. Interest Section”: Uncommon Sense would like President Obama to meet Jorge Luis García Pérez “Antúnez”.
Bermuda, U.S.A.: Ethics & Transparency
Vexed Bermoothes thinks that “it is telling that the first orders issued by President Obama…dealt with ethics and transparency in Government” and that “Bermudians must take note of our inadequacies in this area.”
Barbados, U.S.A.: True Identity
Living in Barbados is hoping that “President Obama will help us in the Caribbean and those in Africa rediscover who and what we really are.”
Jamaica, Barbados, U.S.A.: Bonne Chance!
Jamaican diaspora blogger Pamela Mordecai holds high hopes for the Obama administration and wishes the new President well, while Notes From A Small Rock [Barbados] sums up her sentiment like this: “Now we wait. We wait to see if the words match the deeds. We all want so much of...
Uganda: Mountain Gorilla Population May Have Declined
We have always known that there are around 700 Mountain Gorillas still alive in the wild today – 336 of which are in Uganda - but a new study published in the journal New Scientist indicates that that might be a little optimistic. The 336 individuals said to be resident...
Armenia: Ultra-nationalists
Unzipped comments on news that an association for ultra-nationalist groups in Armenia was established before the New Year. The blog notes with alarm that the association will collaborate with ultra-nationalist groups in other countries, including Russia.
Hong Kong: LGBT content filtered away
Leslovestudy conducted a research on the filtering of LGBT content (zh, pdf) in Hong Kong private and public filters. I have post a summary of the report at GV advocacy.
China: CyberGhost VPN
GFW Blog introduces a new tool, CyberGhost VPN, for getting around the internet filtering (Great Fire Wall) in China.
Argentina: The Timing of Kirchner's Visit to Cuba
Louis Cyphre of El Opinador Compulsivo [es] wonders why Argentine president visited Cuba when she did “to speak with one of the longest lasting dictators in history just as the first black president was being inaugurated in the US?”
Honduras: Vacation in Tornabé
Hugo Chinchilla writes about his week-long vacation in Tornabé, Honduras [es] and adds photos of the peacefulness of the small beach village.
Estonia: Skinheads
Itching for Eestimaa writes about Estonian skinheads – the “purposefully/prematurely bald” young people: “I secretly ponder what is the position of the baldheaded on persons of Mediterranean background. Did we spend too much time in the kiln of the creator or were we baked just right? In any case, we...
Estonia: Arvo Pärt
Robert Amsterdam's Blog writes about “Estonia's most famous contemporary composer Arvo Pärt,” whose latest symphony is dedicated to Mikhail Khodorkovsky – and whose 2006-2007 works are dedicated to Anna Politkovskaya.
Serbia: Things To Do in Belgrade
“A list of less-than-usual tourist things to do when you are a tourist/resident/expat in Belgrade” – at Belgraded.com.
USA: Blogging their Dreams of Citizenship
More than 655,000 people participated in an online vote about which issues activist website Change.org should focus on in 2009. Thanks to campaigning from bloggers and immigrant activists, passing a law that would create a path for undocumented students to gain legal residence in the United States was selected as one of the top 10 priorities.
