David Sasaki

Uganda: Bloggers respond to massive flooding

Over 250 people have died and up to 150,000 have been displaced by massive flooding in northern and eastern Uganda. Local bloggers describe the lasting toll of the floods and explain to their readers how to donate to relief efforts with a cell phone.

China: Reality shows forbidden

The 2005 Chinese talent search competition, Super Girl, could claim more regular viewers than the United States has citizens. Its popularity spawned an avalanche of talent show TV programming in the years to follow. But no longer - Chinese authorities have put a near halt to all televised talent shows by implementing new strict regulations.

Iran: Ahmadinejad’s Speech at Columbia University

Ahmadinejad at Columbia served as a temporary media outlet, aggregating news and information related to the Iranian president’s visit to New York City and the protests it inspired. As Ahmadinejad spoke at Columbia University, however, bloggers and journalists back in Iran wondered why they are not granted the same level of free speech.

Kazakhstan: Big politics and human lives

While the usual discussions about political cobwebs and oil business intrigues kept the Kazakhstani bloggers busy, two dramatic incidents stood out: A rocket crash potentially threatening the health of thousands of people and the murder of a Russian blogger made the Kazakhstani blogosphere think about the value of a human life, writes Adam Kesher.

Taiwan: Whose land?

The issue of aboriginal land rights has taken a twisted path through Taiwan’s courts after three youths of the Smangus tribe were convicted of steeling felled wood that they had originally cleared from the roadway leading to their community.

Bahrain: Halfway There!

From Bahrain this week: a mid-Ramadan celebration, great happiness to be at university, a description of some dating practices, and a packet of rice that just doesn’t make sense, writes Ayesha Saldanha.

Morocco: Berbers can be blonde

Europeans this past week got a lesson in the physical attributes of Morocco’s Berber people when a Spanish tourist photographed a small blonde girl bearing a strong resemblance to missing British child, Madeleine McCann.

Myanmar: Consensus Needed To Support The Protestors Inside Myanmar

Burmese-language blog Moemaka Media takes a look at how recent arrivals from Myanmar are describing and reacting to the protests in their home country.

Oman: Rent Law and Life in Muscat

Rent prices are creeping ever higher in Oman despite recent regulations and increase caps. Also, Ramadan and road rage.

Roundups

Transexuality in Iran, reactions to journalist killed in Myanmar from Japan, Ukrainian campaign ads … and lots more in today’s Global Roundups.

Ghana: Did God save the Akosombo Dam?

In Emmanuel Bensah’s roundup, Ghana’s bloggers discuss the improvement in Ghana’s electricity supply that may have been divinely inspired, take a very long walk and offer opinions on South African investment in their country.

Japan: Japanese cameraman killed in Myanmar

Japanese bloggers analyse the media response to the death of photojournalist Nagai Kenji, who was killed on September 27 while reporting on the unrest in Myanmar, and offer their own opinions.

Egypt: Ramadan Musings

Even during the holy month of Ramadan the Egyptian government continues to suppress free speech, writes D B Shobrawy, in a post also touching upon road rage, a strike by iron and textile workers and the hazards of not fasting.

Maldives: Facebook and blogs used to organize vigil to remember torture victim

Nihan Zafar recounts democracy activists’ use, this year, of blogs and Facebook to organise a vigil commemorating the events of September 19-20, which is heralded as “a watershed [moment] in the contemporary politics of the Maldives”.

Arabeyes: Meet Maryanne Stroud Gabbani

Amira Al Hussaini interviews 54 year-old Maryanne Stroud Gabbani, a Canadian living in Egypt who started blogging “to answer people individually regarding how it was that she was so happy living in a place that the news said was so opposed to ‘western women’.”

Myanmar: Prayer Meets and Support in Neighbouring Countries

Preetam Rai’s latest report on the unrest in Myanmar focuses on the vigils, prayer meetings and other events being held in various South Asian countries in support of the protesting monks.

Roundups

An Argentine footballer tries to learn Polish, Bahrain’s ranking in the Corruption Index slips again, an earthquake in Colombia. . . and lots more in today’s Global Roundups

Chak De India or Go For It India

Could a Bollywood film be responsible for India’s recent successes in the sporting arena? Absolutely, say some bloggers. Kamla Bhatt rounds up the commentary on the “Chak de India effect”.

Bolivia: Evo Morales on the Daily Show

In Eduardo Avila’s article, Bolivia’s bloggers rate the performance of their country’s president, Evo Morales, on America’s favourite comedy/fake news programme.

Philippines: Corruption scandal reaches the presidential palace

A telecoms deal between the Philippine government and a Chinese firm is being described by critics–and bloggers–as overpriced, unnecessary and disadvantageous to the Philippines. Tales of bribery, corruption and harassment have surfaced which could implicate the First Family, reports Mong Palatino.

China: Bloggers side with Burmese monks

A number of influential Chinese bloggers have taken the radical move of openly supporting the Burmese people, reports John Kennedy, “with some throwing their weight squarely behind the Saffron Revolution and others even using this incident as an opportunity to reflect on the state of China’s own democratic movement.”

Korea: Myanmar and Korea

The situation in Myanmar seems to have special resonance for Koreans, who see echoes in it of their country’s own history. Hyejin Kim reports.

Myanmar: Internet Blocked

For the rest of the world, bloggers have been a major source of information on the situation surrounding the protests in Myanmar. Preetam Rai republishes a post from an anonymous Burmese blogger outlining the government’s response to blogs and the internet, and some of the ways people can help.

Myanmar: Soldiers back down in Mandalay

Preetam Rai brings us the latest on the protests from the Myanmar blogosphere, including translations from Burmese-language blogs.

Roundups

A Microsoft school in Chile, selling Ukraine on eBay, a guided tour of Curaçao. . . and lots more in today’s Global Roundups

Arabeyes: Ramadan Scenes

As the holy month of Ramadan continues, Amira Al Hussaini highlights observations from bloggers in Yemen, Palestine, Kuwait and Israel, where, for the past two decades, one family has traditionally signalled the breaking of the fast by firing a cannon.

Culture and Art with an Iranian Accent

Hamid Tehrani talks to Sepideh Saremi, editor of Pars Arts, a colloborative citizen media project covering culture and art related topics in Iran.

Thought Leader: An Editorial Blog

Ndesanjo Macha rounds up the buzz about “Thought Leader”, the final step in South African newspaper Mail & Guardian’s 3-step blogging strategy.

Myanmar: Updates From 26 September

More video, images and blog reaction in Preetam Rai’s update on the situation surrounding the Buddhist-monk led protests in Burma, including a Malaysian politician’s two cents’.

Korea: Stiffer for Sex Offenders?

Korea’s bloggers are divided on the matter of the introduction of electronic bracelets for the country’s sex offenders, reports Hyejin Kim.

Roundups

It’s “hunt the editor” season in Egypt!, four restaurants in Kyiv that aren’t awful, remembering Karachi’s trams. . . and lots more in today’s Global Roundups

China: Traffic cops get machine guns

Traffic police in a major Chinese city have begun carrying pistols and machine guns while on the job. Netizens, writes John Kennedy, don’t think this is a good thing.

Japan: Fukuda Slated to Be Next PM

Fukuda Yasuo’s victory in the recent Liberal Democratic Party elections means he’s set to be Japan’s next Prime Minister. In Jens Wilkinson’s report, bloggers on both sides of the political divide speculate on what Yasuo’s victory could mean for the country, including its role on the “war against terror”.

India: Adam’s Bridge, Infrastructure, Government and Religion

Is Adam’s Bridge, also known as Rama Setu, a geological formation, a man-made bridge or the result of divine intervention? This is the question at the heart of the debate about a shipping canal construction project in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu that proposes to through the structure. In Neha Viswanathan’s summary, India’s bloggers add their two rupees’ worth with the typical mix of humour, cynicism and sang-froid.

Corporate blogging the Kenyan elections

Bankele offers a quick review of the online platforms launched by two of Kenya’s daily newspapers to cover the upcoming elections.

Myanmar: Voices from the Region

Following on yesterday’s roundup of the reactions from Mynamar’s netizens to the ongoing protests in the city of Yangon, Preetam Rai summarises the opinions from other parts of South East Asia. As one Singaporean blogger writes, “All of us want to see progress in Myanmar, the country has missed out on economic development over the last two generations while the rest of SE Asia steams relentlessly ahead, so it is time for Myanmar to wake up now, joins the rest of Monsoon Asia progress and share the prosperity.”

Environment: Final thoughts on “Live from the UN”

Global Voices’ environment editor Juliana Rotich was one of the 12 history-making bloggers invited to cover September 24’s High-Level Event on Climate Change at the UN Headquarters in New York. Having covered the event exhaustively via Twitter and posted a general overview of the event yesterday, Juliana offers some final words, concluding that “As the UN figures out ‘how to talk to blogs’, and bloggers like myself figure out how to cover the UN, It appears that blog coverage would add value to future UN talks.”

Roundups

The astonishing popularity of “e-gold” in Nigeria, looking forward to the Bolivian president’s appearance on “The Daily Show”, a Tokyo neighbourhood designed for grannies … and lots more in today’s Global Roundups.

Ramadaning in Kuwait

“Ramadan, food and shopping were top priorities among Kuwaiti bloggers last week,” writes Abdullatif AlOmar in a post rounding up the activity in his native blogosphere.

One Million Voices for Peace

Ahead of its “People’s Summit” on October 18, Amira Al Hussaini talks with Eric Pineda, the Communications Coordinator for One Million Voices, a project which aims to “amplify the voices of the ‘moderate silent majority’ caught up in the [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict”.

Myanmar: Tens of Thousands Join Protest led by Monks

Bloggers in Myanmar have been reporting actively on the massive, Buddhist monk-led protest that took place in Yangon, the country’s largest city, on September 24, writes Preetam Rai, in a post linking to images, videos and eyewitness accounts.

World Reaction to the UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights

Jennifer Brea rounds up the reactions of bloggers in various parts of the globe to the United Nations’ recent approval–after over 22 years of negotiations and consultations–of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Among the issues under discussion are the implications for the four “settler” states that voted against the Declaration, its likely impact and its limitations.

Roundups

There are no gays in Iran, says Ahmadinejad, a photo report on the Ukraine parliamentary election’s “Battle of the Billboards”, a Jamaican author’s Nobel prize picks … and lots more in today’s Global Roundups.

Russia: Conference on Renewable Energy Sources

A new Web 2.0 internet portal in Serbia has also opened a supplementary blog focused on local youth topics. The first post, translated here by Ljubisa Bojic, is a report from a recent Moscow conference on renewable energy aimed toward educating young scientists in order to make the planet greener.

Ukraine: The Language Issue

Victor Yanukovych’s Party of the Regions is pushing for a referendum on granting Russian official status as a national language, in addition to Ukrainian. Veronica Khokhlova serves up a selection of views on the matter from the Ukrainian blogosphere.

Peru: Fujimori Extradited to Face Charges

After a lengthy process, the Chilean judicial system ruled that former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori would be extradited to face charges of corruption and human rights abuses. When news of the court’s decision reached Peru, bloggers would react almost instantaneously with jubiliation and with a firmer confidence in the justice system. However, questions still exist about what this means for the political landscape in Peru, writes Juan Arellano.

Roundups

Underwear and immigration in Honduras, the Asian horror movie plot formula, Islamic movements compared to other movements … and lots more in today’s Global Roundups.

I’m a big believer in Karma. Not Karma like, ‘if I behave well this time around there’s less of a chance that I’ll reincarnate as a male praying mantiss next time.’ No, my version of karma goes something like this: good begets good.

The nitpickier of you might be raising the red flag - ‘but wait, aren’t you the self-proclaimed moral relativist? The disbeliever in Good and Bad?’ Fine, so what I’m talking about are those good ol’ social mores that have developed over millenia and have become part of both social and human behavior. Generosity is good, greed is bad. Honesty is good, lying is bad, etc, etc. You know, the things that do - or are ’supposed to’ make us feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to do exactly that, to feel warm and fuzzy inside. And so I gave away my cell phone and my mp3 audio recorder to a group of really incredible social activists called Repacted Kenya (more about them soon.) Now, before you go thinking I’m generous - by getting rid of my cell phone, it makes it easier to justify the $400 I will soon spend on an iPhone (I know, I’m a sucka.) And before you start thinking I’m writing this to brag about my act of semi-charity, I’m really trying to illustrate a point: sometimes our money and our material items are much more useful when they are given to other people. With the cell phone and audio recorder, Repacted Kenya is going to be able to document all the great work they do in Nakuru. (again, more soon) Had they stayed with me, they would have gotten little use.

Now comes the time to ask for help. Our friend and colleague Juliana Rincón (AKA ‘medea’) has been invited to Pop!Tech, one of the most popular (and expensive) conferences in the world. She’s been invited to help cover the conference on her blog. But iw will also give her the opportunity to share with others the amazing work that she, Jorge, Alvaro, and others have been doing in Medellín.

Though her conference registration has been waived by the conferences organizers and though she’s been given some stipend money to pay for food and accomodation, she’s having to pay the $1,000 it costs to get from Medellín, Colombia to Camden, Maine all by herself. (No small amount of money for an orthodontics student who volunteers all her time to helping others.) Unless, that is, she gets a little love from the blogosphere. As soon as I’m on an internet connection fast enough to do so, I’m throwing down $10. After all, that just means one less gourmet sandwich at Gregoire’s. Or one less gin and tonic at some swanky club. Or, god forbid, one less retarded t-shirt from Urban Outfitters.

And it means that Juliana will be able to get the word out on HiperBarrio to a group of influential thinkers, policy makers, and business people.

You can help Juliana get there by donating $10 - $20 here.

I don’t believe anyone can change the world. (And, in fact, those who think they can probably have a Jesus complex.) But I do believe we can change individuals. We can help them become and do even more. And I believe that doing so multiplies - that they become inspired to help change the lives of others. $10 isn’t much to help turn the gears of that process.

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