16 September 2007

Stories from 16 September 2007

Japan: Monju reactor trial to begin Sept. 20th

  16 September 2007

Blogger tokyodo-2005 writes about the famous sodium leak and fire at the Monju fast-breeder reactor in Fukui Prefecture (Japan) in 1995 [Ja] and about the subsequent cover-up of a video taken immediately after the incident. tokyodo-2005 reports that a trial about the case is set to begin on Sept. 20th...

Russia: “Putin's Plan”

  16 September 2007

A few days ago, LJ user drugoi photographed a political ad on Leninsky Prospekt in Moscow and posted the picture on his blog. The ad read: "Putin's Plan - Russia's Victory!" The blogger asked an obvious question: "What's the plan, does anyone know?" And received 150 comments from his readers, some of which are translated here. (Plus, a bonus translation: the story of Victor Pipiskin.)

Thailand: Phuket Plane Crash

  16 September 2007

Bloggers in Thailand and the region are posting about the air crash at Phuket airport this afternoon. Phuket is a popular tourist destination in Thailand and many locals and foreigners visit the city for its beaches. Flight OG269, operated by a budget airline, was flying in from Bangkok with both...

China: Blogs ground down as National Congress gears up

  16 September 2007

The best approach the government was able to come up with to address any issues anyone might want to talk about as the Seventeenth National Congress draws closer was to pull the plug on entire IDCs. Tens of thousands of blogs gone already and still a month to go.

Bahrain: Even Ramadan Is Sectarian

  16 September 2007

This week in Bahrain we focus on bloggers' responses to the start of Ramadan. A number of bloggers are frustrated that the start of the month varies according to the different sects. Others are bothered with the entire month itself. Ayesha Saldanha has more in this post.