Stories from 31 March 2011
Russia: “iPad 2 Smuggling in Full Blossom”
Profy writes about the attempts to smuggle iPad 2 into Russia.
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Towards Partition
At OpenDemocracy.net, Bedrudin Brljavac writes about the situation in Bosnia & Herzegovina: “Fifteen years since the end of the war, ethno-nationalist leaders continue to pursue political agendas leading to the partitioning of Bosnia rather than membership of a united Europe. And yet, without the prospect of the EU, it is...
Bulgaria: Protest Against Belene Nuclear Power Plant
Komitata and Simo Ivanov wrote in Bulgarian and in English, respectively, about their participation in the protest against continuing the construction of Belene Nuclear Power Plant that took place in Sofia on Wednesday.
Jamaica: The Sea & Radioactivity
“The news out of Japan gets grimmer by the day”: Labrish Jamaica is concerned.
Haiti: Monsanto's Agenda
Haiti Grassroots Watch takes “a closer look” at Monsanto's seed distribution in the wake of last year's devastating earthquake.
Trinidad & Tobago: Education – Leaving Kids at Sea
“All children now go to secondary school. But it remains an unfortunate truth that the majority of those innocents who sat SEA Tuesday will not have the secondary schooling they deserve”: Lisa Allen-Agostini blogs about the state of education.
China: The Interrogation (A Tale of AI and Revolution)
Stainless Steel Mouse, aka Liu Di, has seen many of her peers arrested or disappeared over the past several weeks. Looking at the unusual way in which China's failed Jasmine Revolution began, she has imagined a scenario which mixes fact with fiction.
Cuba: Meeting Carter
The Cuban Triangle summarizes former President Jimmy Carter's visit to Cuba, while Generation Y blogs about their meeting and the symbolic gift she gave him “in the name of several bloggers and other Cubans.”
Jamaica: Enquiry No Laughing Matter
As the Manatt Dudus Enquiry is extended for the third time, GWAP comments: “A Commission that should have cost Jamaican tax payers JMD $37 million has now skyrocket[ed] to JMD $78 million!”, while Pray, Laugh, Grow thinks the whole debacle is anything but funny.
Ghana: Best Blogs Awards for Ghana
The Tripbase Travel award is only given to the blogs that are the top of their respective class and are some of the best in the field. Here you will see the best blog awards for Ghana.
Communities in Limbo on Honduran-Salvadoran Border
Voices from El Salvador's Weblog writes about the communities affected by an ongoing dispute on the Honduran-Salvadoran border, and argues that the governments from both countries “must take immediate action to ensure that those residents in limbo are granted citizenship so that they may have the rights that everyone else...
Honduras: Security Forces in Denial Over Human Rights Violations
RNS in Honduras Culture and Politics reports that “security forces in Honduras continue to be in denial about their trampling on the human rights of Hondurans.” RNS concludes: “Until there is a recognition on the part of the police and military that they are violating the human rights of the...
Kenyan Bloggers Form an Association; BAKE
On Friday 25th March, several Kenyan bloggers held a meeting in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, under the newly formed BAKE ( Bloggers Association Kenya). The meeting was the 4th in an initiative by some of Kenyas veteran bloggers .
Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah: Opening doors to African women's bedrooms
For the past two years, Nana Darkoa’s blog Adventures from the bedrooms of African women has provided a forum for frank and intimate discussions of sex and sexuality amongst African women and men.
Nigeria: Buhari leads in mock online polls
Nigerian presidential candidate Mohammadu Buhari leads in mock online polls: “There are now several platforms online that allow Nigerians with access to the Internet to vote for their favourite presidential aspirant and share their preference on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.”
Russia: The Most Fierce DDOS Attack On LiveJournal Analyzed
Ilya Dronov, LiveJournal's head of development, told [ru] some details about yesterday's DDOS-attack on LiveJournal, popular blogging platform in Russia. That was the most fierce attack in the history of the platform. Anton Nosik, suggested [ru] that (despite that most of the attacking machines were outside of Russia) the main client...
Russia: Voting For The BOBs Blog Award Has Started
On march 22, 2011 voting for "The Best Of Blogs" Awards, event annually organized by German media corporation Deutsche Welle, started. The award is getting more popular every year. This happens mostly because the role of blogs and online communities grows, as does their influence on social life.
Tensions Between Korea and Japan Intensified Over Territorial Conflict
South Koreans have expressed deep regret over the Japanese government’s decision to endorse middle school textbooks that defined Dokdo island as part of its territory. Reflecting people's anger, Korea's power Twitterer and bestselling novelist, Lee Oi-soo (@oisoo) harshly condemned [ko] Japanese government for approving the new textbooks.
Taiwan: Nuclear Waste on Orchid Island
In 1974, the Taiwan Atomic Energy Council decided to store nuclear waste on Taiwan's Orchid Island, where the indigenous Tao people have lived for generations. More than twenty years have passed, the radioactive waste barrels have eroded with rust and it seems that no one is ready to take care of the problem.
Venezuela: H1N1 Cases on the Rise
The H1N1 virus has hit Venezuela. While writing this post, on March 28, the number of people infected with the virus is 415. Using Twitter, Venezuelans are sharing their frustration at the increasing number of cases as they tweet the latest official information and encourage each other to take precautions.
Japan: The Tsunami, God and Man
A few days after the disaster that killed more than ten thousand people, Italian vice-president of the National Research Council (CNR) Roberto De Mattei and Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara left the Italian and the Japanese blogosphere astounded when they declared that the catastrophe occurred as a manifestation of God’s will. Both in Japan and in Italy bloggers reacted and demanded their resignation.
