Stories from 14 December 2010
Guyana: Artist Passes On
Repeating Islands notes that “Guyanese born painter and sculptor Donald Locke passed away last week…after a long battle with cancer.”
Cuba: What About The 11?
“The European Union has backed off the full-fledged restoration of relations with Havana sought by the government of Spain, unconvinced that the Castro dictatorship has earned a change in treatment”: Uncommon Sense reasons that since the Cuban government “is unlikely to get…what it was seeking, why would it go ahead...
Côte d'Ivoire: Skirmish between Gbagbo's and Ouattara's supporters at Hôtel du Golfe
According to L'Intelligent d'Abidjan and Diaby Mohamed, a blogger who visited l’ Hôtel du Golfe where Ouattara holds his HQ, a skirmish occured between Gbagbo's Security and Defense Forces (FDS) and Ouattara's New Forces (FN). This caused dissemination of many rumors but @ourmaninafrica reports that calm has returned , except for roadblocks...
South Korea: A Controversy Over Free Internet Calls
In South Korea, as new applications offering the free internet phone calls via smart phones became available, the nation's two largest communication companies have decided to limit the use of mVOIP(Mobile Voice over Internet Protocol). Consumer groups, such as an Apple user group, ‘Smart Store'[ko] have started protesting against the...
Japan: Fruity Samurai
The animated series Fruity Samurai [ja] (フルーティー侍), which received a special award for the section ‘World Wide Laugh’ at the last Okinawa International Movie Festival [ja], makes fun of the traditional swashbuckling movies. The first three episodes can be viewed at Fruity Samurai Official Channel [mute] on Youtube.
Malaysia: Moratorium on Medical Schools
The Malaysian government has imposed a five-year moratorium on medical programs across the country, with the aim of shifting the focus from quantity to quality as the number of medical graduates continues to increase every year. Is this a good policy intervention? Bloggers react
Singapore dismisses Wikileaks expose as mere ‘cocktail talk’
According to the latest cable reports from Wikileaks, Singapore's senior diplomats believe the leaders of their neighbors are opportunists, sodomists, and corrupt politicians. And they think India is stupid and Japan is a big fat loser. Here are reactions from Singapore bloggers
China: More empty chairs
China Digital Times has an article on netizens’ interpretations of the three empty chairs on the front page of Southern Metropolis Daily. “It is a Tribute to Lui Xiaobo and Nobel Peace Prize!” Said the netizens.
Venezuela: Views and Thoughts on Internet Regulation
The Venezuelan National Assembly will be discussing a reform to the national telecommunications system, which includes the creation of a national Network Access Point, the regulation of all content distributed through the Internet, and the prohibition of several kinds of content (sex, violence, and those which "offend decency"). While Venezuelan politicians remain silent, netizens have expressed their views regarding this bill.
Japan: Blogging from the PM's residence
With the aim to connect citizens to politics and show how's life at the prime minister's official residence, in November the residence staff launched a blog called Kan-Full Blog [ja] (Naoto Kan being the name of Japan's PM). The blog obviously has posts on the content of PM's press conferences...
Peru: Reactions to Changes in Internet Contracts with Telefonica
Telefónica del Perú, the main Internet service provider in the country, made some changes in the contracts with its users which have generated protests and rejection among Internet users. The penalties for "excessive" use of the Internet and the limited number of possible connections, among other things, are being discussed by several bloggers.
Western Sahara: Wikileaks Revelations Spark Comments
Reactions to the diplomatic cables released by the whistleblower website Wikileaks continue to flourish all over the blogosphere. Revelations concerning the conflict over Western Sahara have sparked a few comments.
