Stories from 25 July 2009
Israel: Cellular firm ad stirs occupation debate
A television ad for Cellcom, the largest Israeli cellular provider, sprung an unprecedented debate on the face of the Israeli occupation over the past two weeks. The advert shows Israeli soldiers playing soccer with unseen Palestinians over the wall separating Israel and the West Bank, to the sound of popular music. The ad was accepted as insensitive at best by many Israelis, becoming an icon of blindness to the occupation in the Israeli society, writes Carmel L. Vaisman.
Japan: Possible Twitter Novel Publication
Netafull [ja] reports that writer/essayist Mica Naitoh tweeted [ja] that she has received an offer to publish her Twitter novel, just a few days after she started tweeting with the hashtag #twnovel.
Russia: Making (Some) Sense of LiveJournal
A number of studies of the Russian blogosphere have been produced in the past by various entities. Russian bloggers, too, are trying to make sense of the space they operate in. Recently, LJ user fritzmorgen has drawn a list of issues that, in his opinion, tend to cause controversy among LJ bloggers. He has also assessed his own views, and, in the process, sketched explanations of some of the Russian realities.
Korea: Why Did Korean Politicians Fight?
The National Assembly passed a bill to revise media regulations after a brutal fight. The obsession with passing the bills from the ruling party, the GNP (Grand National Party), and suspicion of voting by proxy are leading to complaints from all kinds of people and organizations. The GNP denies the...
Peru: An Exhibition of Art and Video Games
Juan Carlos Luján of Sin Papel [es] reports on an exhibition in Lima, Peru of art and video games.
Colombia: Senator Scolded For Using Twitter
Colombian Senator Armando Benedetti may be admonished by his political party for using Twitter to inform followers of declarations [es] made during a press conference. He wrote that there are bad feelings because he published the information before letting the media know [es].
