1 August 2010

Stories from 1 August 2010

USA: Debating Essence Magazine Hire of Ellianna Placas, First White Director

On Jul 19, Essence, America’s premiere black women’s magazine and a media institution, announced that it has named Ellianna Placas as its new Fashion Director. Placas is a renown fashion editor, she is also the first white woman to be hired at this position. Bloggers debate the social and cultural implications of the hire.

1 August 2010

Indonesia: Absentee legislators

Multibrand wants absentee legislators in Indonesia to be investigated after the publication of a report about the declining attendance in the House of Representatives.

1 August 2010

China: Sex workers demand legalization, organizer detained

If prostitution doesn't violate contemporary cultural norms, sex activists argue, then why doesn't the law reflect as much? Just a few days after a group in central China took to the street to gather support in a fight for social status for sex workers, the organizer has been detained by police.

1 August 2010

Japan: Is it wrong to climb Mount Fuji empty-handed?

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it matter if it made a sound or not when the tree was doing its own thing? A Japanese blogger ponders mountains, morals, and messages in a Japanese post titled "Is it wrong to climb Mount Fuji empty-handed?"

1 August 2010

Russia: Towns and Villages on Fire

RuNet Echo

Hundreds of forest and peat fires are raging across central Russia. The organization of the firefighting effort has been inadequate in many cases, and local residents often choose to self-mobilize and defend nearby towns and villages with whatever means they happen to have at their disposal.

1 August 2010