Stories about Weblog from October, 2007
Argentina: Kirchner Wins Apathetic Election
Cristina Kirchner, the wife of outgoing Argentina president Nestor Kirchner, captured 45% of the vote in last Sunday's election and avoided a run-off election. However, many bloggers indicate that this was an election that was met with apathy leading up to the vote, but some reacted to the results and some usual problems that take place on election days.
Japan: Kameda hits below the belt
(In)famous for their big mouths and bad behaviour, coupled with showy performances such as singing karaoke after their victories in the ring, the Kamedas have become the media's favourite boxing family. After the title match on Oct. 11, however, the family found themselves in the middle of harsh media bashing.
Jordan: Political Money and the Elections
Jordanian blogger Batir Wardam discusses his skepticism with Jordan's democratic political progress in this post (Ar). Is there political money fueling his country's campaigning for seats in the Parliament .. or it is just money?
Burkina Faso: Blogs Help Burkinabe Skirt Censorship
In Burkina Faso, blogging is more than a pastime. It is the eyes and ears of thousands of net users. That's why from October 11th to the 17th, during the 20th anniversary of the assassination of Thomas Sankara, Burkina Faso's internet connection was cut in order to prevent those commemorating...
Korea: School Field Trips and Income Gap
School excursions are memorable experiences. Being in unfamiliar circumstances and spending several nights with friends give the chance to build stronger friendships and to better understand teachers and other friends. But recently school excursions have become a source of dispute, as wealthier students can afford trips to places that poorer...
Lebanon: Polemic and nature
Moustafa from Beirut Spring's blog noted in one of his latest posts that Lebanon is “dropping French.” Somehow that claim is true; Lebanese francophone blogs are few and different from those in English, and are also less popular. However, they present a face of Lebanon that we would like to...
Guatemala: Missing Home
Migration either internally or to countries abroad is a usual phenomenon in Guatemala. During the armed conflict and the years of extreme poverty and violence several Guatemalans decided that there was a lack of real opportunities. As a result many left their homelands to go to the capital city or to go North to find other ways to survive and improve their quality of life. Blogs play an important role in keeping people connected and to bring a piece of Guatemala closer.
Brazil: “Haiti is here, Haiti is not here”
Haiti has become a regularly commented on issue on the Brazilian blogosphere. The special connection between Brazil and Haiti was initiated in 2004, when Brazilian troops started to participate in MINUSTAH — the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti. Last week the UN decided to extend its presence in the...
Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood
Tarek Amr shares with us the thoughts of an Egyptian blogger (Ar) about Islamic political parties in this post, which sheds light on the Muslim Brotherhood, its ideologies and impact on Egypt.
Lebanon: Arts and Artists
The Lebanese blogosphere is not solely composed of political blogs you know, and thank God for that. Some artists are using blogs to display their paintings, music and other artistic creations. Moussa Bashir tours the blogosphere, opening up a whole new world of culture and arts.
Israel: When Yigal Murdered Rabin
Last week marked the 12th anniversary of the murder of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Gilad Lotan translates a blog from Hebrew which sheds light on the celebrations which broke out at an ultra-orthodox community when the news was announced.
Morocco: Stop Internet Censorship!
In March of 2006, Livejournal, the popular blogging site, was blocked by the state-controlled telecommunications provider Maroc Telecom (a subsidiary of Vivendi International), depriving Moroccan citizens of access to the roughly 2 million blogs the service hosts. On May 25, 2007, Maroc Telecom blocked access to YouTube for few days. In August 2006, Google Earth was added to the list of major websites being blocked. And as expected, Maroc Telecom didn’t give any justification for this instance of censorship.
Philippines: Bribery scandal
Political analysts believe the Philippine government is desperately trying to cover-up an alleged bribery incident which happened inside the Malacañang presidential palace two weeks ago. Mong Palatino covers Filipino blogs commenting on this.
Touring Libyan Blogs: October 26 -The Black Day and the Security Council
Why is October 26 called "Day of Mourning" or "Black Day" in Libya and how is it commemorated? Libyan bloggers tell us more about the occasion in this post by Fozia Mohamed.
Ecuador: Immigrant Girl Attacked on Barcelona Train
A 16-year-old Ecuadoran immigrant was sitting alone on the train in Barcelona, when a Spanish citizen who was talking on his phone, proceeded to repeatedly strike the girl for no apparent reason. The images were caught on camera inside the train and brought swift reactions of disgust by bloggers in Ecuador and abroad, as well as caused others to pause and reflect on the status of immigrants in Spain.
China: Rules of Olympic engagement
Leading Hong Kong Democrat Martin Lee calls for increased dialogue on China's human rights record as the Olympics approach and gets labeled a traitor, quite possibly due mainly to a mistranslation which some are saying is too large to have been an accident.
China: Chinese Nominees for the BoBs
This year the Best of Blogs voting has started in Oct 22, 2007. You can cast your vote online for the best weblogs, videoblogs and podcasts. According to Deutsche Welle, there were 7,000 nominations around the world this year. 15 Chinese weblogs are in the nominee list. Among which three...
Korea: Can a Law Change Society and People's Perspectives?
Korean bloggers discuss a new bill that would prohibit discrimination against homosexuals in Korea. There are many opposing views, but some netizens welcome this new law and ask for a more understanding attitude toward homosexuals.
Armenia: Former President Makes Political Comeback
In what can be considered one of the most important political developments in the short 16-year history of Armenia as an independent former-Soviet republic, the country's first president, Levon Ter Petrosian, announced his intention to run again for office in the presidential election to be held early next year. Ter...
China: Tiger! Tiger?
Zhou Zhenglong, a villager in Shaanxi shot pictures of a wild South China tiger, but its veracity was soon put under questions by netizens. As the government and experts joined in, the incident reached its climax, especially when both sides of this debate （fake or not）bet their heads. It evolved from a scientific issue to a “bloody farce of gambling of heads”, so called.
Russia: Bloggers On George W. Bush and “Russian DNA”
The U.S. president's recent comments about "Russian DNA" did not cause as much of an uproar as did race comments by James Watson, a co-discoverer of the structure of DNA - but, they did not go completely unnoticed. Below is a selection of comments made by Russian bloggers and forum dwellers.
