Stories from 2 March 2010
Facebook in Asia
Indonesia, Philippines, and Malaysia belong to the top 5 countries in Asia with the most number of facebook users.
Cambodia: Yuon, a racist term?
Erik W Davis discusses whether the Khmer term ‘Yuon’ has a racist connotation.
Cambodia: Crime rate
Crime rate in Phnom Penh went up last year but the number of reported serious crimes went down. A blogger believes the numbers may be misleading.
China: People's representatives
A diagram showing the ratio of Chinese government / party official and ordinary people in the people's representative of the National Congress in China. It appears that more than 75% of the delegate is government / party official. (via twitterer yuanxinting)
China: Official's sex diary
Veggie discourse translated a recent sex scandal of a Chinese official in Guangxi, whose’ diary has recorded his daily activities in taking bribes and having sexual intercourse with women.
China: QQ phone about to emerge
Kenengba has an article foreseeing the launching of QQ phone in the near future.
The Technology for Transparency Review, Part I
In this first review of case studies from the Technology for Transparency Network we discover that online platforms like Discuz! and Twitter can reverse bad policy and stimulate healthy debate. But for longterm transparency and accountability projects in developing democracies the challenges are many.
Chile: Political Points Amidst the Earthquake
Among the ongoing reports of casualties and damage caused by the earthquake that struck Chile, political observers and bloggers have commented on the implications the quake will have on Chilean politics, especially since Chile is in the midst of a presidential transition.
Many Russians Ready to Pay for Content Online
A new research by Nielsen shows that almost a half of Russian internet users are ready to pay for online content. The surprising results of the research and its comprehensive analysis are published by Slon.ru.
Poland: Potential Internet Access Restrictions Boosting Creativity
Earlier this year, the Polish PM met with Polish bloggers to discuss the government's proposal to introduce the Registry of Banned Websites and Services. The result was the withdrawal of the above-mentioned proposal. The threat of any restrictions on the Polish web kicked off a series of creative reactions to the issue.
Global Voices in Spanish on jury for Bottup citizen journalism award
Spanish citizen journalism site Bottup is accepting entries to the II Citizen Journalist Award until March 15. The winner will be awarded free travel to any destination from where they would like to report.
Bulgaria: A Debate on Islam
On Feb. 26, some 40 people attended a debate titled "Islam as a threat - again in fashion?", held in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Ruslan Trad translates some of the blog notes on the issues discussed.
