29 December 2009

Stories from 29 December 2009

China: Cui Weiping tweets elite views on Liu Xiaobo

  29 December 2009

Many Chinese public intellectuals take flack for keeping quiet on major social issues. Beijing Film Academy professor Cui Weiping has sought to change that by tweeting her peers' views on the recent sentencing of China's most prominent democrat.

Nicaragua: The Aftermath of the 1972 Earthquake

  29 December 2009

On December 23, 1972, a 6.2-scale earthquake struck Managua, Nicaragua killing 5,000 and leaving 250,000 homeless. Nicaraguan blogger Homero was a young child at the time, but he holds memories of the aftermath, which he describes in a recent post in his blog Ventana de Homero.

Malawi: Bloggers discuss 30 earthquakes in 3 weeks

  29 December 2009

In what some geologists have described as rare occurrences, Malawi's northern district of Karonga has in the past three weeks experienced a total of 30 earthquakes resulting in at least 5 deaths, over 200 people injured and over 3,000 made homeless. Bloggers have been quick to share their reactions.

Azerbaijan: Standing in line

  29 December 2009

Newly returned to Baku, Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines posts its observations on queuing in Azerbaijan. The blogger is not impressed and in a previous post also laments the state of the medical system in the country.

Japan: Spread the message, translate it

  29 December 2009

A video interview [en] of Kyo Kageura, head of the project Minna no Honyaku (みんなの翻訳, Translation for all) [ja], a new translation platform that helps NGOs and NPOs to spread their messages thanks to volunteer translators. Global Voices Japan asked him about the challenge of Minna no Honyaku [en], the...

Did China wreck the Copenhagen deal?

  29 December 2009

Uln tried to sort out what had happened in Copenhagen and questioned why the developed countries did not sign among themselves a deal for reducing emission. Inside-Out China translated a local report telling an insider story on Wen Jiabao's schedule in Copenhagen.

Bahamas, Jamaica: Jonkonnu & Christmas

  29 December 2009

“We tend to forget — or, more probably, we don’t know — that Junkanoo in the Bahamas is not unique”: Nicolette Bethel provides “a taste of what happens in Jamaica at Christmas…”

Trinidad & Tobago: 500

  29 December 2009

Trinidadian bloggers comment on the country's record murder rate – Jumbie's Watch: “The message is clear. We’re screwed.” B.C. Pires: “Not even when Mr Manning and Mr Panday achieve Trinidad's most vulgar historic event – the creation of an executive presidency by back-room trickery – will Trinidadians put their feet...

Cuba: Show of Support

  29 December 2009

Cuban diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense reports on “the arrests over the past several days of numerous activists attempting…to show their support for political prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo, who has been on a hunger strike…to demand that his human rights be respected.”

Barbados: Drunk Driving

  29 December 2009

“To Owen Arthur, Mia Mottley, David Thompson and a series of Attorneys General: the victims and the families of the dead and injured say ‘Thanks for nothing.'”: Barbados Free Press wants breathalyzer laws instituted on the island.