David Sasaki

Jamaica: “I am HIV”

We ended last week’s Friday digest with a note from Slovenia about a new campaign called “I’m Roma too.” Now to the Caribbean where Jamaican blogger Ria Bacon has photographed a Kingston woman holding a sign that reads “I am HIV.” Georgia Popplewell explains why.

Voices from Kazakhstan

Leila Tanayeva presents us with fascinating conversations revolving around Kazakhstan’s entry into the global economy. Bloggers react to President Nazarbayev’s suggestion that Cyrillic script be switched to Latin and that right-hand-drive cars be banned. Also, the treatment of local employees at foreign oil and coal companies.

USA: Video-sharing places L.A.’s police in the spotlight

Excessive force by the Los Angeles Police Department was first made notorious by a home video recording of the infamous Rodney King beatings. Now, in the age of pervasive video cell phones, the LAPD is once again embroiled in controversy after an Iranian-American university student is tasered, a handcuffed suspect is punched in the face, and a homeless man is pepper-sprayed while in handcuffs; all caught on video and uploaded to the net.

Moscow, Now and Then

If you have ever felt yourself overwhelmed by the modern metropolitan melee then you’ll surely appreciate Veronica Khokhlova’s startling look at the Moscow of past and present.

Chile Seeks Political Transparency

A corruption scandal in Chile’s leftist Party for Democracy caused one blogging senator to announce his withdrawal from the coalition and others to question the centralization and closed-door policies of the country’s political class.

Tanzanian bloggers’ virtual conference

Following accusations of discrimination and paternalism during the recent Digital Citizens Indaba controversy, Tanzanian bloggers worldwide decided to organize their own ‘virtual’ media and blogging conference. J. Nambiza Tungaraza describes why the conference was needed and how it was organized.

Lusosphere’s PanAmerican Elections Wrap-up

Two weeks ago Nicaraguans chose a new president. This weekend Peruvians headed to the polls for municipal elections. And in the next two weeks both Ecuador and Venezuela will elect new leaders. It is the latest round of an electoral year that has redrawn Latin America’s political map. Or has it? Brazilian bloggers debate the new and old meanings of left and right in Latin America.

The Week That Was in Bahrain

“For a small constitutional monarchy, with a population of about 700,000, Bahrain’s blogosphere is sure never short of new topics for discussion and debate,” begins Amira Al Hussaini. Indeed: democratic reforms are put at risk with the recent arrest of two activists, the launch of Al Jazeera English prompts much reaction, and rare rain makes for a comforting Friday afternoon.

China: Put the E back in APEC

“China wasn’t invited to APEC’s founding meeting seventeen years ago,” notes one Chinese blogger, but observers of this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum couldn’t help but notice the attention commanded by the global economy’s rising star. John Kennedy translates three Chinese blog posts examining how the world’s most populous country will affect political and economic relations across the pacific rim.

Roundups

First impressions of Al Jazeera International from Pakistan, coup attempt in Madascar, rewriting Kyrgyzstan’s electoral code, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Cinema's pervasive influence on all forms of art, from music to the novel, painting, etc. [via Revaz]

Kurdistance: Picking up the pieces

After a short hiatus, Deborah Ann Dilley is back to report on the past month’s big news from Kurdish bloggers as Saddam is sentenced to death, a blogger’s book drive benefits Kurdish schoolchildren, and YouTube videos depicts the region’s recent flooding.

Blogging About India, NRIs, Bollywood and Ice Cricket

Poverty in India is declining, but housing prices around Bangalore are nearing unreachable levels. Kamla Bhatt also presents us with thoughts about ice cricket in Estonia and a realization on the colonial legacy of “Indlish”.

Philippines: Toxic trade with Japan

“Last September 9, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi signed the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement or JPEPA in Helsinki,” writes Mong Palatino. Filipino bloggers, however, explain why they are concerned about the environmental impact of the new agreement.

Tongan Capital Burns

Breaking news from an island most of us know nothing about. Preetam Rai - with the help of Tongan and Fijian bloggers - explains what inspired the riots that enflamed the capital city, Nuku’alofa, yesterday afternoon.

Arabisc: Culprits, Democracy and the Rule of Law

Amira Al Hussaini’s latest selection of translated excerpts from the Arabic blogosphere takes us from the surreal state of Iraq to questioning democracy in Kuwait to the plight of political activists in Saudi Arabia. And, in Egypt, two more activists are detained by authorities for taking part in an anti-sexual harassment rally.

Serbia, Slovenia: Relationship with the Roma People

Discrimination against the Roma people has long been one of Eastern Europe’s darker legacies. Ljubisa Bojic translates a conversation from Slovenian cyberspace about how the media reinforce negative Gypsy stereotypes and what one design studio is doing to create awareness and promote solidarity.

Roundups

Questioning the cause of death of Bradley Will in Oaxaca, the politics of Pakistan’s Women Rights Bill, the world’s largest paper airplane, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Good point. Female bloggers -and female professor bloggers especially - seem more likely to go anonymous.

If Jesus were to show himself anywhere, this makes sense.

Voices from Zimbabwe

We start the day in a busy Zimbabwean blogosphere following the presentation of a document by a group of church leaders to President Mugabe outlining “The Zimbabwe We Want: A National Vision for Zimbabwe.” Local bloggers also introduce readers to unsung conservationist, Zephaniah Maseko Phiri, and decry the nearing capacity of the nation’s cemeteries.

Landing at the Iraqi Blogodrome

The busy blog buzz continues in Iraq, where Salam Adil writes: “Its only been a week and Iraqi Politics has been turned on its head. Saddam has been sentenced to death, the architect of the war has resigned, Bush is eating humble pie and the Americans are seriously considering talking to the ‘Axis of Evil’. The changes have left some bloggers struggling to keep up.” But keep up they articulately do - including one explanation of why Fridays are boring and another comically describing a freshman’s university experience.

The Moroccan beauty shines in France while more Moroccan bloggers “call it quit”!

Multicultural Moroccan identity represented in a reinvented, traditional dress; banning prayer at the state airline; and the “see-you-soon disease” all figure in to Farah Kinani’s latest summary of national cyber-conversation.

China: Touchy topics

Existing in a limbo between traditional censorship and interactive hypertext, the Chinese bulletin board system KDNet is allowing some politically sensitive articles to remain online, but disabling users’ ability to comment. John Kennedy’s translations of such articles offer us a glimpse into what balances on the fence post of appropriateness.

Russia: Lenin’s Mausoleum

News that Lenin’s Mausoleum will close down for six weeks of restoration work - including “scheduled biochemical work” on Lenin himself - has inspired some characteristic comedy by Russian bloggers along with some serious and not-so-serious ideas about what else could be done with Lenin and his tomb.

The Week that Was - Bolivian Blogs

We end the day in the Andean nation of Bolivia, where bloggers are debating the newly implemented “Bono Juancito Pinto,” which will award approximately US$ 15 to each child attending primary school. Eduardo Avila lets us in on just who is Juancito Pinto and what Bolivian bloggers view as the pros and cons of the new program.

Roundups

Cuban librarians, a criticism of Nepal’s peace process, reviewing Al Jazeera International from Indonesia, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Is this what Google Book Search is going to look like? Pretty pathetic. [via Rolando]

Interesting job announcement.

It's silly to compare blogs with entire newspapers. They should be compared to the readerships of individual columnists.

Eight percent of internet users, or about 12 million American adults, keep a blog. Thirty-nine percent of internet users, or about 57 million American adults, read blogs – a significant increase since the fall of 2005.