Archive for
May 4th, 2006
Stories
China: May Fourth Movement missed
Not a lot of bloggage today on the cultural, political and anti-imperialist May Fourth Movement which began on this day in 1919, in an environment and with a course of events somewhat similar to that of the spring and early summer first in Beijing then nation-wide seventy years later.
Although having a foundation in the context of foreign powers in China during the first world war, the May Fourth Movement also brought about significant changes in the nation's literature. With the rejection of an elitist classical style of writing for a modern venacular which could be understood by all, the tone was set which led to the emergence of such contemporary Chinese writers as Lu Xun and later, Qian Zhongshu.
We Media conference update
A quick post from London to let you know that one of the speakers here, Nitin Desai, the Special Assistant to the UN Secretary General, who chaired the UN’s Working Group on Internet Governance, will be taking part in a skype and IRC chat with the Global Voices community.
We had so many questions from bloggers and people joining the session via the IRC chat at the session here directed to him that we've asked him to answer them outside this forum. We'll let you know the details when we've finalised the arrangements.
Russia: Stories From a St. Petersburg Hospital
LJ user aneta-spb, a St. Petersburg journalist of Belarusian descent, is busy taking care of her 21-year-old son now, who is in the hospital with a broken spine. Below is the translation of some of aneta-spb's hospital notes (RUS) - taken in the city that, among other things, will be hosting a G8 Summit July 15-17.
Both aneta_spb and her son were in Minsk during the presidential election and the protests that followed, and she covered much of it on her blog and in other media.
A person who was safe and sound after the March 19-25 events in Minsk, stumbles on a flat spot in St. Petersburg and gets a spine trauma. […]
He is in Maximilianovskaya [hospital], and it's necessary to visit him. Not that I'm needed there all the time - he gets tired himself, gets sleepy. So sad - he couldn't wait for spring and now he'll have to spend two weeks lying on his back and then two weeks lying on his stomach… This is what we've been told, though there's only been one x-ray done and a doctor on duty looked at it then, on Friday evening. Saturday, Sunday, Monday - there'll be no doctor. I don't understand how this can be - a spinal injury, three days is too long!
I made cutlets yesterday and went to visit him.
This is not the worst hospital. It doesn't stink in the room, at least…
A room for five people, one bed's empty. Gloomy men of various ages lie either with broken legs suspended or simply on their backs. In the room for those who can't move, there's no bell to summon the personnel. The door is wide open and this is understandable. First, to yell and be heard in case something happens (this, I guess, is problematic, however - the post is far away and the nurses' room is all the way around the corner); second, it works like air conditioning. No way to open the window - because they can't move. And because one bed is underneath the window and the person there can catch a cold.
Links for Thu, 2006-05
Technorati has increased indexing of non-English blogs, writes Danwei's Joel Martinsen, going on to explain why the aggregator's indexing of many Chinese blogs will still show only—perhaps even less than—half the popularity picture.
Tajik Boy asks whether or not Russia is Tajikistan's friend or foe in the long term given Russia's treatment of states in the former USSR who pursue independent political paths.
The Golden Road to Samarqand reports on Kyrgyz universtity students' thoughts on politics in the wake of last weekend's large protest in Bishkek.
Claire Wilkinson says that Kyrgyz must seriously think about and enact changes to build a better future rather than acting for short-term benefits, which has done nothing but hurt the country.
Arsineh offers a first-hand report on Serj and John of System of a Down hunting down Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, to pressure him to bring to a vote a pending resolution on recognizing the Armenian genocide.
Harmick posts the latest on the Armavia crash at Blogrel.
A protest is being planned in Serbia on May 9, writes Belgrade Blog, and it is being advertised by means of SMS: “”In ‘92. they told us that the sanctions will last two weeks. Today, Mladic is more important to them than all of us! PROTEST - SERBIA TO EUROPE! 9.5. 17h, Republic Square, Belgrade SEND IT FORWARD.”
W. Shedd of The Accidental Russophile writes about a Westerner's take on Soviet - and Russian - humor: “The film also makes the case that humor has dried up in Russia since the fall of communism. I'm rather skeptical of this claim […]. The targets might now be New Russians, rather than Old Communists, but the tongue is just as sharp and just as funny.”
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