11 July 2008
Stories from 11 July 2008
Serbia: “Face to Face With Digitalization”
The Parliament of the Republic of Serbia elected a new government a few days ago. The basic goals now are for the new Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic to strive for European integration, defend Kosovo, strengthen the economy and social responsibility, step up the struggle against corruption and crime, and fulfill Serbia’s international commitments. Bloggers have paid attention to this event. However, one of them was also thinking about a very important issue for the government, something the new Prime Minister has so far failed to address: the digitalization of Serbia.
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Japan: View from Ecuador on WaiWai “Child Hunt”
WaiWai was a column in Japan's fourth largest newspaper Mainichi, published for years in the English version of their website and featuring some of the most scandalous (and mostly fabricated) articles from Japan's weekly tabloids, translated to English with added “embellishments”. In recent weeks, the story of WaiWai erupted on the Japanese Internet, users reacting to WaiWai's negative depiction of Japan. One Japanese blogger living in Ecuador wrote a blog post expressing outrage at a WaiWai article about Japanese supposedly "hunting" for children in Ecuador.
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Guatemala: Was Antigua the Inspiration for the Little Prince?
For a relatively small country, Guatemala's magnificant scenery can awaken one's imagination. From the 37 volcanoes that rise up from the landscape to the mystical Lake Atitlan, it is a country that has attracted intellectuals in the field of culture and arts, who may have been drawn to this magical land. One other author, Antoine De Sain Exupéry, who is best known for writing “The Little Prince,” visited Guatemala by accident, and leads to the question: Was Antigua, Guatemala his Muse for writing about Asteroid B-612?
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Belarus: The Blast, the Arrests, and Bloggers' Solidarity
A week ago, a homemade bomb packed with bolts and screws tore through a crowd of thousands of people who had gathered for the Independence Day concert in the Belarusian capital. Following the blast, police arrested four ex-members of the White Legion, the youth wing of the Belarusian Union of Military Personnel, banned in 1996. To show their support for the former activists, many Belarusian bloggers now exhibit the White Legion's emblem on their userpics.
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I do not support capital punishment, in this instance there have no other alternative. What these killers have done is...