Stories from 16 March 2008
Japan: Obama gets support from Japanese city
Excitement is growing in a sleepy fishing town on the coast of the Japan Sea. The city of Obama, whose name means “little beach” in Japanese, is receiving unusual attention for its coincidental resemblance to the name of a certain US presidential candidate.
Blogger of the Week: Renata Avila Pinto
A lawyer by profession, Renata Avila Pinto brings us the voices of bloggers from Guatemala on Global Voices Online. Amira Al Hussaini interviews Renata about her voyage with blogging, her likes and dislikes and hopes for the future, in today's Blogger of the Week series.
Panama: PRD Elections
Luis Polo Roa of Tu Politica [es] writes about and analyzes the elections for the new leaders of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) in Panama.
Macedonia: Name Change to Enter NATO, EU?
Ever since Macedonia became independent from Yugoslavia in 1991, its name has been the subject of a bitter dispute with its southern neighbor, Greece. Greece claims that the use of “Republic of Macedonia,” as Macedonia calls itself in its constitution, not only violates Greece's historic cultural claim to the name, but also implies a territorial claim to the northern Greek province of Macedonia. Elia Varela Serra reviews bloggers' responses to the issue.
Americas: Poll Numbers from the D.R. and Paraguay
Bloggings by Boz has the latest presidential election poll numbers from the Dominican Republic and Paraguay.
Guatemala: What the State is Like
“The State of Guatemala has become an uncontrolable force, associated with violence, with impuntiy, and with abuse,” writes Renata Avila at Nothing is Permanent [es] as an answer to the question, “What does one think of when one says ‘State of Guatemala'?”
