Stories from 18 April 2009
Israel: What Happens when IDF Soldiers Testimonials are Taken Out of Context
On March 19th, Israeli daily Ha'aretz published a report describing the alleged incidents in a closed-door meeting of Israeli soldiers at a military prep program, where they described multiple accounts of immoral orders and actions taken by the Israeli military during the recent Gaza operation ‘Cast Lead'. Their testimony runs counter to the IDF claim that Israeli troops observed a high level of moral behavior during the operation, but falls in line with stories coming from Palestinians, describing multiple Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
Egypt: Filmmaker's struggle finally pays off
Egyptian cinema-goers will finally be able to watch Ibrahim El Batout’s film Ein Shams [Ar] (Eye of the Sun) as an Egyptian movie at the end of this month - after a long drama with censorship. Nermeen Edrees brings us the story.
Global Recession: The world is talking. Are we listening?
There is no lack of online articles about the various aspects of the global economic crisis. Many of them are written by economic experts and policymakers. What about the perspectives of ordinary bloggers? This global roundup of blogs gathers stories of people around the world who are struggling to survive the economic downturn.
Azerbaijan: Dalga youth activist expulsion update
In Mutatione Fortitudo, the blog of Global Voices Online author Ali S. Novruzov, provides its readers with an update on the case of Parviz Azimov, the student activist recently expelled from university. The blog is concerned that the reason given for the action taken against Azimov is an alleged involvement...
Argentina: Cleaning Up the Riachuelo
La Matanza River, better known as El Riachuelo, flows through one of the most colorful tourist attractions in Buenos Aires, Argentina. However, the contamination from nearby industrial plants has left the waterway heavily polluted. Despite promises from local authorities, little progress has been made to clean up the river. A Greenpeace icebreaker is arriving to take part in a campaign to raise awareness and to push for results.
Iran: Journalist sentenced to 8 years prison
Calibor2000, an Iranian blogger, writes [fa] that Iranian government sentenced Roxana Saberi, American-Iranian journalist to 8 years prison in order to use her for a prisoner swap deal.
Korea: Is teachers’ physical punishment toward students a crime?
A second grade student at a primary school was struck 27 times by her teacher because she gave the wrong answer to a math question. After her mother put a photo of her daughter’s bottom with bruises on the internet, parents’ associations and other netizens criticized the teacher’s behavior. In...
Pakistan: National Bloggers Conference Live
The First National Bloggers Conference of Pakistan took place today at 5:00pm PST at Regent Plaza in Karachi. Teeth Maestro live blogged the event.
Bangladesh: A Change Is Coming
Mahfuz Sadique has high hopes for the silent majority Bangladeshi people: “those who were mere witnesses of their fate and fortune till now will not wait for things to change at the top. [..] This time around, they –the people – will change Bangladesh.”
Azerbaijan: Youth activist expelled from university
According to information spread by the Dalga Youth Movement, Parviz Azimov, the head of its Southern Regional Office, has been expelled from university. Both inside and outside Azerbaijan, bloggers are concerned by the action taken against the student activist.
Georgia: Russian youth movement provocation
Wu Wei Thoughts from the Tao comments on news that the pro-Putin Nashi youth movement attempted to cross into Georgian territory during last week's protests in Tbilisi. The blog says that such an attempt will do nothing to help the opposition in its attempt to force the Georgian president to...
Zimbabwe: Was the ministerial retreat necessary?
Zimbabwe coalition government officials went for a Ministerial Retereat recently at Victoria Falls whose aim was for them to come up with a 100 day Action Plan for the implementation of the Short Term Emergency Economic Recovery Programme (STERP). Was the retreat a waste of public money or a necessary step in healing the nation?
India: Rare Honor For A Blogger
Indian star blogger and columnist Amit Varma has been selected as one of the 50 most powerful people in India by Business Week. Amit responded with a typical witty remark: “I come between Sachin Tendulkar and Lalu Prasad Yadav, and am not quite sure how to respond to that honor....
Taiwan: Promoting language diversity
Taiwan is home to a range of Austronesian and Chinese languages. Taiwanese Identity discusses ways to promote Taiwan's languages.
Peru: Recovering Memories of the Amazon
Historical records and memories of the Peruvian Amazon are often locked up in the archives of governmental offices or other non-governmental organizations, and often never seen by the general public. Now through the use of the internet, many of these publications, photos and videos are being shared with the world, which allows those living in the present to see how things have changed.
