Back in the day, big character posters were mostly used for vile purposes, so when they started popping up recently on shop fronts in a remote corner of China's Yunnan province, it's no surprise mention was made at major Chinese forum Tianya. From Tianya blogger Big Reporter (大记者):
云南石林县惊现”大字报”
10月22日上午,在云南省石林彝族自治县县城,很多单位的门口出现了一张印刷精美的海报,大标题赫然写着:”十问柳文炜”。
云南省石林彝族自治县是世界著名的喀斯特旅游所在地,也是著名的阿诗玛的故乡,自1956年成立彝族自治县,至今已达50年,今年年初,该县决定举行一次隆重的庆祝活动,跟”县庆”配套的一项重要工作就是改造整个县城的建筑风貌。
Many Lebanese blogs are reflecting the internal political bickering that is creating an atmosphere of uncertainty about the future of the country. Most of the posts in this weeks review are bleak with little hope for the future. This is something that is very unusual for a people who take pride in being life-lovers. But then this may just be a phase Lebanon is passing through.
As the “war of words escalates” Blacksmiths of Lebanon compiled a list of pro and con quotes that have lead to a general sense of unease.
Hilal (Ar) summarizes the situation by stating: “this is a country hanging in void”.
And to add to the political uncertainty some elements of security doubts, Bech tells us about gun silencers caught by security forces at the airport in Beirut.
The Grateful Arab describes the infinite cycle of crumpling and rebuilding of the Lebanese society by comparing it to the myth of the Sisyphus. Then points out that:
The response of the Lebanese civil society to the July War is infinitely more important for the future of our country than anything that happened on March 14, 2005. We urgently have to build on these achievements as our only hope of survival as a country at this point is the strengthening of our civil society. NGOs in Lebanon need to be supported at all costs, they need both volunteers and funds (an area where expatriates can particularly help). Change will only happen from the bottom up.
Chemi Che Mponda sums up her feelings about critics of Madonna's adoption of a Malawian baby, David Banda:
David Banda kazaliwa katika umaskini, lakini leo anaishi katika utajiri. Na lazima kuna watu wanamwonea wivu!
Little David has been in Madonna's family home in England since mid October. His adoption has sparked a debate about poverty, orphans and adoption in Africa. Human rights groups in Malawi are still protesting the legality of the process that paved the way for David's adoption and vowing to have the court order reversed.
Writing about the same issue, Simon Kitururu asks: Was it a publicity stunt? Is adoption to a wealthy entertainer better than living in an orphanage? What about David's ties to his family and culture?:
…tunavyodai watoto wa kiafrika wanapochukuliwa kwenda nchi za magharibi wanapoteza Uafrika wao, je ni nini kinachotunza Uafrika wamtoto wa kiafrika Afrika kitamaduni sasa hivi? Kwa maana ni ukweli asilimia kubwa za mambo yanayozidi kumzunguka mtoto wa kiafrika Afrika yanamizinguo ya kimagharibi. Yaonyeshwayo kwenye televisheni ya asilimia kubwa ni ya kimagharibi. Shule zetu zinashinikiza elimu ya kimagharibi. Dini zetu ndio hizo zakutoka nje.
Hugo Chavez, the leftist Venezuelan President, has developed a very friendly relationship with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian Islamist President. Iran even awarded the Venezuelan President its highest state medal for supporting Tehran in its nuclear standoff against the international community. This alliance was discussed a couple of months ago among Iranian left-wing bloggers. Let’s look at how they've been are looking at Chavez and his relationship with the Iranian government.
History lesson for Chavez
Chape No (which means “new left” in Persian) published an open letter written by Leftwing Students of Iranian Universities [Fa]. In this letter, the importance of Venezuelan-style revolution for Iranian workers was highlighted and Chavez was informed that Iranian regime has already executed thousands of left-wing militants.
In this letter we read:
Nareg, who descirbes himself as a “nice, quiet (i.e., conservative) Armenian boy” reports on an outbreak of making out in public in Yerevan.
Onnik Krikorian reports that 29 percent of Armenians are hungry.
Sean Roberts explains how Kyrgyzstan's former president could become a political issue in the United States.
Jonny Mason of Tajikistan Travels writes about training of teenage Tajik boys who work in markets to be peer trainers to teach other youths working in the market about HIV.
Two Caledonia-based bloggers have been to the ocean this week and brought back breathtaking pictures too. Sebastien Merion has just (Fr)come back from a week-long sailing excursion that involved sun, rain, a stopover at the Goa isles but thankfully no brush-up with Hurricane Xavier. Meanwhile Katuali (Fr) went to the beach at Thio, a two hour drive away from Noumea…for work!.
FILEnetworks Blog takes a look at propaganda and the LTTE. “So we wanted to know who hosted Tamilnet. We found the answer and it didnt surprise us at all. Finding the host is not a complicated process and you can do it yourself.”
Dengue in Pakistan is becoming a problem. Sajjad on the increasing number of people taken ill. “The outbreak of “Dengue Fever” in parts of Pakistan is now becoming a countrywide epidemic. Quite a few bloggers have posted about it including one who lost his cousin to a dengue infection.”
The beatroot writes about media freedom in the EU, the fear of the Polish plumber (again; 70 comments so far), a Sudanese woman giving birth on a bus in Warsaw, and a few other matters.
InternetRapide.com announces (Fr) the launch of www.guadeloupe.fr a new travel information portal dedicated to promoting Guadeloupe as a vacation destination.