Stories from 18 August 2007
Russia: Neo-Nazi Execution Video
One of the most discussed topics in the Russian blogosphere last week was a graphic video of what appeared to be the execution of two ethnically non-Russian men by masked figures claiming to be members of a Russian neo-Nazi group. Anton Nossik, a representative of the company that oversees LiveJournal's Russian segment, blogs about the Russian authorities' irrational reaction to the video.
Peru: Providing Help for Quake Victims
Juan Arellano, who has been providing coverage of the recent Peruvian earthquake, publishes his latest bilingual update regarding the different needs of those affected by the disaster.
Peru: Destruction in Huancavelica
el útero de marita [ES] implores readers to not forget about the destruction in Huancavelica, in which nearly one-third of the housing was destroyed by the recent earthquake.
Iran: Government celebrates Journalist Day
The Iranian government celebrated Journalist Day on August 8, in spite of having arrested several journalists and banned many newspapers in recent months. The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said: “The work of journalists is of the same essence of that of the prophets: informing.” According to Reporters without Borders at...
Honduras: Number of Cases of Dengue Increases
La Gringa's Blogocito writes about the increase in the cases of dengue in Honduras in 2007.
Ecuador: Reporting Internet Campaign Expenses
Christian Espinoza of Cobertura Digital [ES] links to an article that discusses the fact that internet advertisement for the upcoming Constituent elections is not regulated, but should be reported as a campaign expense.
Fighting the desert in Burkina Faso
Vive la francophonie posts an article about the Koom la viim association's efforts to fight desertification (Fr) in Burkina Faso by planting 3,500 plants. “This initiative deserves to be known…even if it only concerns a small portion of land, these efforts contribute to cleaning and reoxygenating our planet…if thousands of...
China: Blogs deleted, barred and officially backed
An eventful week on the backside of the Chinese blogsphere with an entire blogging website desisted, one high-profile blog deleted and another put on the unmentionable list; two web 2.0 companies battle it out in the courts and one novice blogger tries to gain readers the nouveau-riche way.
Martinique braces for Hurricane Dean
le blog de [moi] writes a post bracing for Hurricane Dean (Fr), which has just hit Martinique: “the light's hazy, the birds are quiet, the ocean's [dark] like oil, there is no wind. The calm before the storm.”
Armenia: Genocide notes
The quest for the acknowledgement of the Armenian genocide might prevent seeking an explanation for why it happened. Join Onnik Krikorian for several interesting thoughts on the issue of the Armenian genocide.
Kyrgyzstan: Meet the summit press
Joshua Kucera was one of 500 journalists who covered the SCO summit in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek. The Kyrgyz hosts provided the journalists with all they could wish for, except one, rather important thing: information.
Georgia: IDPs
Steady State says that in Georgia, Internally Displaced People from the Abkhazia war are now being evicted from their temporary shelters. At the same time, the Caucasian country spends record sums on its military.
Afghanistan: Misinformation or Taliban divisions?
Afghanistanica has serious doubts on the authenticity of an alleged Taliban pamphlet distributed in Afghanistan's Helmand province this July. Was it written by the Americans instead?
Kazakhstan: Elections
Sean Roberts analyses the importance of today's parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan, and finds that the real results of the poll will only be clear over the course of the next year.
Azerbaijan: Islam on the rise?
Asking Tough Questions in Tough Places discusses whether the eclipse of political opposition to the current Azeri government is promoting a surge of radical Islam.
Mongolia: Media and journalism
Tom Terry, Managing Director of independent station Eagle TV, dissects a UNESCO report on media and journalism in Mongolia, and finds little reason to disagree.
Vietnam: Web Censorship
When I began considering posting on Global Voices from Vietnam, the first thought that came to mind was what exactly was I allowed to post? What topics could I cover, and which ones should I avoid? The media in communist Vietnam is state controlled, and although the internet isn’t as...
Iraq: Shame on Britain!
“I have a few words for the govt of Britain. Shame on you Britain for abandoning the only people that believed in helping you. Shame on you for refusing them entry to your country. Shame on you. I shake my head with disgust,” writes Neurotic Iraqi Wife in this post.
Egypt: To Blog or Not to Blog
The Big Pharaoh from Egypt is torn between whether to blog or to stop.
Palestine: Life in Gaza
Palestinian Leila Al Haddad discusses life in Gaza in this post.
Libya: First Woman Rally Driver
Highlander from Libya writes about the first Libyan female rally driver here.