23 September 2007

Stories from 23 September 2007

Peru: Fujimori Extradited to Face Charges

  23 September 2007

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, especially for the party of current President Alan Garcia and whether this was part of Fujimori's plan the entire time.

Ukraine: The Language Issue

  23 September 2007

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. Below is a selection of views on the "language issue" from the Ukrainian blogosphere.

Russia: Conference on Renewable Energy Sources

  23 September 2007

Web 2.0. is finally coming to the Balkans: SeminarskiRad.com, a portal based on the share principle and offering free resources to Serbian students, has become really popular very quickly. A few days ago, the portal's blog supplement opened on Blogger, dedicated to the topics relevant to Serbia's youth. The first post is a report from a recent Moscow conference on renewable energy, whose aim was to educate young scientists in order to make this planet greener.

Lebanon: Language Differentiating Islamic Movements

  23 September 2007

Bech raises this question among others: “Is there something that differentiates Islamic movements from other movements?“ And he answers, tentatively: “The difference is in the language used as representative of a different ‘form’ of consciousness (culture, etc.) shaped by different institutions and power relations in place.”

Lebanon: Politically Apathetic

  23 September 2007

I am politically apathetic.I prefer this to being engaged in a political party whose leaders will deceive me, double-cross their ideals and sell their martyrs to the highest bidder… declares Joumana Mattar Moukarzel in reaction to the unstable political situation in the country.

Vietnam: Ignoring Myanmar

  23 September 2007

Diacritic highlights the protests happening in Myanmar and wants Vietnam to distance itself from Myanmar. In recent years Vietnam has increased its contacts with Myanmar.

Vietnam: Installing Linux

  23 September 2007

Saigon Nezumi, who is promoting open source in Vietnam, is pleased that his student was able to install Ubuntu Linux on his computer by himself.

Brazil: Atlantic forest may recover

  23 September 2007

A research by the French Institut de Recherche Pour le Développement (IRD) and the University of São Paulo suggests that “despite being reduced to just 8 percent of its original extent due to agriculture and urban expansion, the Atlantic forest may be capable of recovery. In other words, the Atlantic...

Brazil: Google Bombing the Senate

  23 September 2007

The president of Brazil's Senate, Renan Calheiros, has been recently absolved over accusations of graft in a 40-to-35 secret ballot vote in the Senate House. The accusation against Calheiros was that he had personal expenses paid by a construction firm in exchange of political favors. He was discharged in a...