Stories from 11 August 2009
Armenia: Journalist assaulted
Unzipped comments on reports that a prominent opposition representative is accused of assaulting a local journalist. The blog notes that the alleged victim is usually attacked by government supporters and says that actions such as this only results in many considering both sides of the political divide to be the...
Japan: Suicide rate of SDF officials
Id:zyesuta analyses the problem of the high rate of suicides among the Self-Defence Forces (自衛隊 Jieitai) officials. The number of cases was particularly large in 2006 while it seems to have been slowly decreasing since then.
Tunisian Tweets Aggregator Launched
Thanks to the efforts of Tunisian bloggers, Tweets about Tunisia are now being aggregated at BabTounes.
Bolivia: Free Software Activist Richard Stallman Visits
Hugo Miranda of Angel Caido [es] writes about the arrival of free and software activist Richard Stallman to Bolivia and the activities planned during his visit.
Barbados: Seeking Solutions
“The whole region is in turmoil and yet we expect West Indies cricket to be any better?”: Barbados Underground says that “a solution has to be found, not only for the West Indies cricket team but more importantly for the whole region.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Feeling Tight
“Tight belts. Tight thoughts. Tight minds that allow us no space to consider our humanity”: The Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister tells the public that they can loosen their belts, but Attillah Springer says that “tight or loose is the same old khaki pants.”
Suriname: Questions Seeking Answers
Artist and curator Christopher Cozier, blogging at Paramaibo SPAN, seeks to “generate a fertile exchange…towards transforming predicaments into mutually shared sovereign understandings.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Above The Law?
As a stash of drugs and ammunition is found hidden in the ceiling of a police station in Trinidad, This Beach Called Life says: “What this raid does for public confidence in the Service is to destroy confidence even further because for every police gang uncovered Mr. Public feels there...
China: Foreigners camping on the Great Wall, Chinese reactions
Fauna from ChinaSMACK translated Chinese netizens’ reactions on foreign travelers’ illegal camping act on the Great Wall.
Barbados: Respecting the Environment
Lani Edghill, guest blogging at Barbados Free Press, believes “our environment is trying to tell us something” and urges fellow Barbadians to change their consumption habits and get involved in environmental events: “We as a community have the power to change our behavior.”
Korea: Commentary on Clinton visit
Ask a Korean! translated two blog entries from a famous North Korea blog, Nambukstory, that commented on Clinton's visit and the release of Euna Lee and Laura Ling.
China: An “old comrade” urges re-evaluation of the CCP
Qian Gang gave some backgrounds of an article, “Conversations with an Old Comrade on the Eve of the 60th Anniversary of the PRC”, which has been circulated widely on the Internet, calling for reflections on the Chinese Communist Party's rule at the eve of 60th anniversary of the establishment of...
Puerto Rico: The Battle Over Public Lands
The Puerto Rican government has issued an order to remove 200 families from the Villas del Sol community, under the premise that they illegally occupied lands that are prone to flooding. As the families continue to resist the eviction order, bloggers weigh in.
Sri Lanka: Perils Of Communal Schools
Nazeeya Faarooq at Groundviews starts the discussion describing why Sri Lankan Muslims celebrated the recent Pakistani win against the Sri Lankan cricket team and states that the ethnic segregation is perpetuated and perpetrated by having communal schools in Sri Lanka and the absence of comparative religion as a subject.
Pakistan: Shutting Down Lahore Food Street
Talkhaba feels disgruntled by the decision of the Pakistani government to shut down the Lahore Food Street.
Mexico: Telling Secrets on Twitter
Rafa Saavedra is a connosseiur of underground culture from Tijuana, México. In an interview, he tells about his most recent project combining Twitter and the telling of secrets.
Azerbaijan: Bloggers’ appeal rejected
Media Helping Media reports that appeals by Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli, two video bloggers and youth activists currently held in pre-trial detention in Azerbaijan on what many consider to be politically motivated charges, were yesterday rejected.
Sri Lanka: Growing Censorship
Sanjana Hattotuwa writes about the growing censorship in Sri Lanka.
India: Advice For Bloggers
Greatbong at Random Thoughts Of A Demented Mind has five bits of unsolicited advice for bloggers.
Malawi: The good, the bad and the hopeful in health care
In this post we highlight some of what Malawian bloggers are writing about the country's health care system. We look at bloggers describing developments in eye care, reflecting on midwifery, expressing shock over negligence in hospitals and government waste, and we end with rare good news about the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Morocco: Bloggers React to the Banning of Magazines
French newspaper Le Monde joins two other papers in being banned in Morocco after publishing the results of a poll in which ordinary Moroccans were asked to give their assessment of the monarch, King Mohammed VI. See how bloggers react to the censorship in this post.