Stories from 29 January 2010
Russia: CJR Piece on the Media
Robert Amsterdam recommends Adam Federman's article on the Russian media, published in Columbia Journalism Review: “[…] Federman focuses on the remaining mechanisms and political dynamics for freedom of press and...
Global Voices in Haiti: Litmus Test
Georgia Popplewell, on the ground in post-earthquake Haiti, looks into reports of "tear gas" being used at a food distribution point, and visits the Carrefour area of Port-au-Prince. The second in a series of special reports.
Russia: Potential iPad Pricing and Sales

Svetlana Gladkova of Profy writes that “representatives of one of the local retailers that is now negotiating iPad sales in Russia expect to be able to sell iPad at the...
Global Voices in Haiti: Arriving in Port-au-Prince
Georgia Popplewell, a member of the two-person Global Voices team on the ground in post-earthquake Haiti, files her first report from Port-au-Prince. "Two of Pétionville's squares have been transformed into teeming tent cities. The area just east of the Champs de Mars is a long corridor of rubble, not a building left standing."
Russia: Opposition Blogger Finally Gets Permission To Leave Country

An opposition blogger Oleg Kozlovsky tells his story [EN] on how his blog helped his to finally receive a passport allowing him to leave Russia. The country's Federal Security Service...
Azerbaijan: Democracy is…
Önər Blog [AZ] posts a video [EN] made by the OL! Azerbaijani Youth Movement for the Democracy Video Challenge. OL! has been exemplary in its use of new media in...
Global Voices in Haiti: Our Team on the Ground
In the aftermath of the 12 January earthquake in Haiti, Global Voices has sent a two-member team to Port-au-Prince to augment our coverage of recovery efforts, and stimulate local participation in citizen media. Here are details of the objectives Georgia Popplewell and Alice Backer are working towards.
Iran: Green Tune to Support Protest Movement
A ring tone for a song which motivated young Iranians to go to the front and fight during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s is making the rounds again in solidarity with the opposition. Hamid Tehrani reviews the reactions of bloggers to the 'Ey Iran' song.
Syria: A Short Story
Medad blog published a sarcastic short story [ar] depicting a Muslim cleric and a Christian cleric passionately discussing virtue and interfaith understanding as each of them tries to claim a...
Haiti, U.S.A.: Donating Breastmilk
Repeating Islands links to a story about the importance of breast milk for the infant victims of Haiti's earthquake.
Trinidad & Tobago: iThink, therefore iPad
“When iHeard Apple called the device iPad, iImmediately thought of tampons and iAm a man. iThink Apple has unwittingly provided fodder for stand up comedians and may have to change...
Haiti: The Politics of Recovery
The last thing that Haiti needs as it faces the monumental task of recovering from the earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince and its environs on January 12 is a lack of good governance. Yet, some members of the Haitian blogosphere are bracing themselves for more of the same when it comes to the 2010 earthquake recovery effort.
Africa: On Homophobia in Africa
Responses to Homophobia in Africa by Sokari: “I’m writing this post in response to number of articles on the prevalence of homophobia in Africa and to try and give some...
Africa:Mocality: Business directory for mobile phone
Mkaigwa writes about Mocality, Africa's business directory for mobile phone.
E.Africa: Mobile Web East Africa Conference 2010
John writes about Mobile Web East Africa Conference: Mobile Web East Africa is a very cool conference taking place in Nairobi of Feb. 3-4. The event focuses on “harnessing the...
Nigeria: Uzoma Okere wins court case against the army
Nigerian curiosity writes about the case of Uzoma Okere in Nigeria: “Uzoma Okere is the young Nigerian lady whose assault by military officers became a viral video that raised the...
Eritrea: Remove current regime quickly
According to Mohammed Hagos, democracy project in Eritrea has to start with the removal of the current regime: “The hurdle preventing the Eritrean people from having their say is the...
Africa: African women's struggle for credibility
A discussion about African women's struggle for credibility: “Africans have faced discrimination for centuries, yet women have been marginalized for much, much longer.”
Malawi's President to formally declare new love on Valentine's Day
Malawians are digesting news that the country's president Dr Bingu wa Mutharika will engage his former tourism minister Callister Chimombo on Valenetine's Day 14 February. A couple of bloggers have wished the president well in his new found love following the death of his wife Ethel three years ago.
Japan: Sit-In Protest against US Helipads in Okinawa
TenThousandThings from Kurashi blogs about a sit-in protest against the construction of US Helipads in Yanbaru Forest, a mountainous region full of biodiversity in the northern part of Okinawa.
Japan: Micro-gardens
Palmsundae from Tokyo Green Space blogs about the micro-gardening practice in old Tokyo neighborhood.