Stories from 20 November 2011
Ukraine: Starbucks, Social Media Marketing, and “Language Issue”
Tetyana Bohdanova writes about social media marketing and the "language issue" in Ukraine - and a recent scandal caused by what turned out to be a fake Facebook page of Starbucks.
Ukraine: Netizens Appeal to Lithuanian President to Postpone Her Visit
Ukrainian netizens drafted an open letter to the Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė, asking her to postpone her visit to Ukraine, currently scheduled for Nov. 22, the seventh anniversary of the 2004 protests known as the Orange Revolution, and explaining that a court's decision to ban citizens from gathering for commemorative...
Pakistan: The Second Blog Awards
S.A.J. Shiraji reports that nominations are closing on Monday (21 November 2011) morning for the second Annual Pakistan Blog Awards. The theme for 2011 is “Colors of Pakistan: Celebrating the New Media Spaces” and voting will run till November 25, 2011.
Ukraine: Tymoshenko Called “Unindicted Co-Conspirator” in Lazarenko Case
Ukrainiana comments on a former Assistant U.S. Attorney calling ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the case of another Ukrainian ex-PM, Pavlo Lazarenko, who is currently serving a 9-year sentence at a U.S. federal prison: We [U.S.] jail your former PM [Lazarenko] = prosecution. You [Ukraine] jail your former...
Nepal: First LGBT Movie
XNepali reports that the first Lesbian movie from Nepal is in post production stage and will be released shortly.
Sri Lanka, India: Biography of LTTE Leader Prabhakaran
D.B.S. Jeyaraj tweets about an upcoming 1000 page biography of Veluppillai Prabhakaran, leader of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The book is being written by Nedumaran, a well-known politician from Tamil Nadu in India and he is the leader of the Tamil National Movement, which is supportive of the...
D. R. Congo: The Stolen Future of the Pygmy People
Marie wrote the following in a blog post to comment [fr] on the Greenpeace report: Stolen Future: Conflict and logging in the heart of Congo's forests – the Danzer case : “This action denounces both both an ecological and a human crime. It is time that nations take concrete measures against logging companies that destroy tropical ecosystems and violate human rights. “
Japan: Clouds over Tokyo
@yoisin compiled [ja] a list of over 70 tweets with photographs that capture the ominous clouds that drifter over Tokyo today.
China: United States Begins ‘Pacific Century’, Online Nationalism Follows
As the US quickly asserts its position in the Asia-Pacific region, nationalist sentiment has leapt at similar speed from somewhat marginalized online communities to the top of China's largest blog portals.
Côte d'Ivoire: Pregnancy and Lifestyle
Kingsuy blogging from Côte d'Ivoire writes in this post [fr]: “Fad or symbol of unconsciousness of some mothers? Either way, it is difficult to figure why so many young pregnant women are still drinking so much while attending “maquis” (local eatery); but many of them will still find a way to convince you...
Liberia: Giving Free Press a Second Chance
The judgment in the controversial media closure case in Liberia gave justice a rare opportunity to prevail. On November 7 the Liberian government shut down three media houses for allegedly spreading hate messages likely to incite violence.
Kazakhstan: 2,2 percent of population have Facebook accounts
Kazakh blogger sympaticus writes [ru] that the number of Facebook users from Kazsakhstan is now 340 660 people, making up the Facebook penetration in Kazakhstan to 2,2 percent. During the last 6 months, the number of the FB users has grown by 18,5 precent.
Russia: Nationalist slogans get spread
Fergananews writes [ru] on popularity of Russian nationalist slogans against immigrants from Central Asia amidst the looming parliamentary elections: “25 percent of high school students approve of nationalist actions of their classmates.”
Tunisia: Execution of a Tunisian in Iraq Divides Netizens
The execution of Yosri Trigui, a Tunisian convicted of terrorism, in Iraq has divided Tunisian netizens. A terrorist who deserves what he obtained, or a young victim of manipulation, and a trial that did not meet international standards? Read Afef Abrougui's round up of reactions from Tunisia to find out.
Interview with Izumi Mihashi from GV Lingua Japanese
Izumi Mihasi is leading recruitment and team building at Global Voices Lingua Japanese. Here are her thoughts on its next steps, and on the Internet landscape in Japan.
Japan: Top 60 buzzwords this year
Gakuranman explains (translation+context) to each of the words that made it into the annual list of top 60 Japanese buzzwords from the publisher Jiyu Kokuminsha.