13 February 2009

Stories from 13 February 2009

India: The Pink Underwear Resistance

  13 February 2009

In some parts of India, celebrating Valentine's Day could be considered harmful to women's and couple's health, as Morality Police decide to hunt down couples and women that may be holding hands or in pubs. The Pink Chaddi campaign is a step towards demonstrating that women can and will take matters into their own hands to make sure the situation changes.

Bangladesh: Books By Bloggers

  13 February 2009

The history of Bangla blogging is relatively short. It was December 2005 when the first Bangla blogging platform was born. But soon more platforms came up and open source development in Bangla input systems eased Bangla computing across the globe and brought more people in blogging. The most encouraging aspect...

India: The Satyam Fraud

  13 February 2009

Sans Serif comments: “It is remarkable how easily an even larger media circus has allowed ‘India’s Biggest Corporate Fraud’ to slip into ‘India’s Biggest Coverup’ in one month flat.”

Mexico: Cartel Violence Affecting Phoenix

  13 February 2009

The drug cartel violence in Mexico is affecting the city of Phoenix, Arizona, which is now the world city with the second most kidnappings. Latina Lista writes that the US government should move to address the situation in Mexico.

Egypt: Bloggers Rally Against Sexual Predators

  13 February 2009

Sexual harassment makes the headlines of Egyptian blogs once again after a blogger was harassed on the street by a group of young men, high on hash. Marwa Rakha reviews reactions from the blogs, who are urging the blogger not to drop charges and fight for the rights of women and children attacked by sexual predators.

Sri Lanka: Tamil Politics

  13 February 2009

Dayan Jayatilleka at Groundviews discusses the future of Tamil politics: “Tamil political discourse has to rediscover the heritage of Tamil progressivism.”

Bangladesh: International Telecom Policy

  13 February 2009

Rohan Samarajiva at LIRNEasia comments on the failing international telecom policy of Bangladesh, “illegal termination could not be controlled without bringing down international termination rates.”

China: CCTV under fire

  13 February 2009

On the night of February 9, part of China Central Television (CCTV) Tower caught fire when a squad was shooting fireworks to celebrate the Lantern Festival. The fire has reportedly killed one fireman, injured seven other people, and destroyed billions of yuan in broadcast facilities. Speculators have widely noticed the...

New Zimbabwe Has Arrived, But…

  13 February 2009

MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in Wednesday as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe in a historic move to establish a government of national unity after years of political, economic and social crises. The swearing in of Morgan Tsvangirai is expected to pave way for the revival of the economy and bring about rule of law and genuine democratic changes. Following this historic move, we decided to look at the voices, analyses and mood of Zimbabweans in the blogosphere.

Chile: Bachelet's Visit to Cuba

  13 February 2009

Chilean president Michelle Bachelet has planned a trip to Cuba to improve relations after 37 years. La Pollera [es] writes about some of the criticism that has headed her way because of that decision.

Japan: Google Japan and PayPerPost

  13 February 2009

Motohiko Tokuriki at Tokuriki.com posts a long discussion [ja] of the recent PayPerPost incident at Google Japan. Tokuriki writes that while he does not agree with the PayPerPost approach, there is nonetheless a distinction to be made between the PayPerPost strategy in which funding is openly acknowledged, and the strategy...