Stories from 5 July 2008
Russia: Blogger's Trial
Russian Cyberspace posts an update about a Russian blogger on trial and internet censorship.
USA: Al Jazeera Blackout?
When Burlington Telecom, owned by the small city of Burlington, Vermont (population 39,000), decided to carry Al Jazeera English, debate sparked amongst its residents, leading some groups to protest for its removal. Bloggers in the city and around the world have jumped on the story.
Western Sahara: A new Sahrawi satellite TV station
This will be our first attempt to cover the Sahrawi blogsphere. I, alongside Jillian York and Renata Avila will try to shed light on what the Sahrawi bloggers are saying each week, in Arabic, English and Spanish. The topic of Western Sahara is one of a very complex background, and emotions tend to run high whenever it is under discussion. We will try to cover the Sahrawi side with as much objectivity as it is humanly possible.
Iran:Persian Gulf's ancient history evoked
Kourosh Ziabari writes that in a two day conference Durham University in UK has studied the Persian Gulf and the ancient trading habits of the seafaring Persians.
Colombia: Hostage Rescue Raises Concerns
After the rescue dubbed as “perfect” by liberated former Presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, who was rescued by the Colombian army on Wednesday July 2nd along with 14 other hostages being held captive by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) for up to 10 years in some cases. The Colombian community has been voicing concerns about the repercussions the rescue might have, and what interests might have been behind it.
Brazil: On the ill-treatment for migrant workers
“We are imperialists and prejudiced, but faced with other nations’ prejudice, we forget our own. We turn our backs to Latin America and Africa, despite sharing with them the same history of colonization.” Sakamoto [pt] reflects on the way Brazilians treats its migrant workers and dreams about it as country...
Armenia: Lost Cause?
The Armenian Observer posts a video with English subtitles and comments on yesterday's rally by the radical opposition in Armenia. The blog says the movement led by the country's first president seems to be slowly turning into a lost cause.
Armenia: Foreign Policy Failure
Unzipped comments on recent statements made by newly-elected Russian president Dmitry Medvedev as well as the Council of Europe and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) reaffirming the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. The blog asks its readers somewhat rhetorically if the statements represent the failure of Armenian foreign...
China: AI's Human Rights Beijing 2008 campaign
Red.CBGB at Bullog.cn has posted several of the images from Amnesty International's Beijing Olympics human rights campaign in a photo post, ‘Olympic project’. ‘It feels like a little too much,’ writes one reader. ‘This is no exaggeration at all,’ writes another, ‘but the truth is always hard for anyone to...
China: Shutting down for the Olympics
Just over a month until the big games, Fons Tuinstra at China Herald takes a look around Beijing as the city prepares itself in ‘Olympic shutdown gets into places’.
Venezuela: Bloggers Pay Tribute to Eugenio Montejo
Venezuelan bloggers pay tribute to Eugenio Montejo, one of the country's greatest poets, who won the national prize of literature and the international prize Octavio Paz. One blogger even recounts meeting Montejo and being introduced to him by his father who said, "son, meet one of the greatest poets of this country, Eugenio Montejo."
Russia: Farewell to “Khrushchevki”
Earlier this week, LJ user drugoi, one of the most popular and prolific Russian bloggers, posted 17 photos from a Moscow neighborhood of Khrushchev-era apartment blocks, commonly known as khrushchevki, pyatietazhki, or khrushchoby. The neighborhood is about to disappear, to make room for more up-to-date residential high-rises. Below is some of the text that accompanies drugoi's photos, and a few of the 331 comments that the post has generated.
