Archive for
January 10th, 2007
Stories
St. Petersburg, Russia: Flood #302
As waves and wind pushed water levels 2.2 meters (7.2 feet) above the norm today, LJ user goblin-gaga drove around St. Petersburg, filming this 302nd flood in the city's 303-year history:
He wrote (RUS):
I rode from the beginning of Primorsky Prospekt, along Vyborg Embankment, across Liteinyi Bridge, along Fontanka, through Nevskiy, to Lomonosovskyi Bridge. A flood, truly. A funny one.
A rather photographer-friendly flood, too - not devastating (knock on wood) and occurring in the sunny weather: needless to say, LJ user goblin-gaga wasn't the only blogger out there willing to document it.
One of the places to check for photo updates is LJ community fotopiter (”Photographic (as well as artistic) images of St.Petersburg, Russia, one of the most fascinating cities on the globe. The primary language of this community is Russian.“).
So far, one of the most striking images there is this one, taken by LJ user aorist at Vasilyevsky Island around 4 PM. Most comments are of the “Wow!!!” variety, and quite a few bloggers are asking (RUS) for a larger-size copy of the photo - which aorist posts here, along with five more pictures from St. Petersburg's streets.
The rest of the world welcomes the Apple iPhone
Mobbing the iPhone yesterday at Macworld. Photo by Malabooboo
We didn't want to have to write this article. As Global Voices‘ Latin America editor/Spanish translator/Digest dude David Sasaki wrote on one of our mailing lists yesterday, “I have low tolerance for the amount of internet bandwidth dedicated to the latest and greatest Apple product. . . .” Searching his Latin America RSS feeds, however, David could find “little else other than excited talk about the Apple iPhone,” and several of our other authors and editors reported on similar oohing and aahing coming from their respective blogospheres.
For the benefit those of you who don't spend your waking hours refreshing the pages of Digg and Endgadget, here's a little context: the iPhone, Apple Computer's long-awaited combination mobile phone/iPod/Internet communications device, was unveiled yesterday by Apple CEO Steve Jobs during the keynote address at the opening of the Macworld conference in San Francisco. Arguably the most speculated-upon device since the ancient Sumerians were wondering whether the wheel would really rotate on its axis, the iPhone, with its movie-star looks and a feature set possibly deserving of the term “revolutionary”, won't arrive in stores — in the US — for another five months; and when it does, it will be tied initially to a single US service provider. (A launch in Europe is announced for later in 2007, with the iPhone becoming available on the Asian market in 2008). Price? US$500 for the basic (4GB) model. (more…)
Philippine free press under attack
Since the fall of Marcos dictatorship in 1986, the Philippine press has been described as one of the freest in the world. But in recent years, various groups have taken notice of the widespread attacks on Philippine media. Many journalists from the provinces have been murdered The government closed down a newspaper for almost a week last year. The First Family is harassing journalists by filing libel cases in the Courts.
Pinoy Press quotes a statement from journalists who accused the First Gentleman of redefining libel:
“We are deeply concerned that the First Gentleman, Mike Arroyo, is not using this libel suit to seek legitimate redress. Rather he is redefining libel, a clear affront to the Philippine press. As we know, the test of libel is the presence of malice. But Mr. Arroyo disregards this basic tenet and recklessly uses libel to intimidate and silence the press. The message we’re getting is this: anything that hints of criticism of the First Gentleman or is considered unfavorable coverage of his activities is “libelous.” In effect, he hinders the public’s right to information on matters of public concern.”
Freedom Watch details how journalists are fighting back:
“More than half of the 45 reporters, columnists, editors and publishers the First Gentleman, Jose Miguel Arroyo, has sued for libel are filing a civil class action suit against him. The first of its kind in the Philippines, it is a civil as well as class action suit. The class action suit is asking for damages for the anxiety, loss of income, and other inconveniences Mr. Arroyo’s libel suits have allegedly caused. But it also argues that the suits have not only caused the respondents sleepless nights; they also have a chilling effect on press freedom.”
Bloggers on the Iran government's efforts to enforce registration of blogs and web sites
The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance in Iran has been trying to follow the Chinese government’s path of controlling blogs and web sites. Owners of blogs and sites have been asked to register their web site or blog within two months. At the time of registering, private information such as name, family name, and identity card and telephone numbers will be recorded as well. Besides strong opposition from bloggers, who made fun of the new law, government soon came to the realization that it is impossible to make people register hundred of thousands of blogs. The Iranian government announced that the regulation requiring websites (including blogs) to register no longer applies to sub-domains. This means a great number of blogs do not have to register, but there are still a number of blogs with their own domains.
Let's look at how some bloggers reacted to this law:
Nikahang, a leading cartoonist, blogger and journalist, has summed up many people's feelings in a cartoon. The English translation of the Persian caption is “where is your permission or license?”
Links for Wed, 2007-01
Chlim01 is concerned about the risk of oil spills on the Mekong river after reading a report that is talking about China using Mekong river to ship oil to its south western province of Yunnan. Mekong river originates in China and flows through Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. The rivers supports millions of people in these countries.
Vutha introduces us to a ten year old girl who sells bracelets to tourists to support her family and her education.
The Daily Brunei Resources blogger finds a list of things that an expatriate likes about Brunei.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was sworn in on Monday, laying out an ambitious plan to speed up and strengthen his “socialist revolution.” (Video in Spanish here) Daniel Duquenal, however, labels Chavez's “21st Century Socialism” “Rehashed Communism” and looks at what the nationalization of CANTV and Electricidad de Caracas could mean in the future. Miguel Octavio adds, “Today markets plunged in Venezuela and so did the country's democracy.”
Sean Roberts lists reforms proposed by the front-runner to become Turkmenistan's next president. Roberts analyzes why the next president will be under pressure to reform, why he will need engagement from the West, and why the US should support reforms.
Greenhornet.lk on the two problems in Sri Lanka - ethnic and military. “An acquaintance of mine summed it up this way: “If you kill one person, you get to go to jail. If you kill a thousand, you get to go for peace talks”.”
Light Within on Fred Bremner. “He was not a diplomat, historian or a journalist, yet his photographs and publications have become an important source of historic records of the cities, events, places and people in Pakistan.”
Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying on Senator Edward Kennedy and his support for Bangladesh. “His was one of the lonely voices in the United States government that defended the right of the Bengali people to exist. He spoke out against the massacres, the rapes, and the persecution when the Nixon administration chose to look the other way.”
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