Global Voices Digest for February 11th, 2008
Portnoy Zheng: The blogger who inspired the world to talk together
One of the most exciting developments at Global Voices over the past year has been the Lingua project, which translates Global Voices posts into Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, Malagasy, and more. Meet the man who started it all: Taiwanese super translator Portnoy Zheng.
Morocco’s coach sacked after Africa Cup loss
Speaking of translation Lydia Beyoud brings us the opinions of two francophone Moroccan bloggers regarding the dismissal of national football coach, Henri Michel, following his team’s poor performance in the African Nations Cup.
Japan: Coming-Out Letters
A newly published book in Japan, which compiles letters exchanged between lesbian and gay children and their parents, students and teachers, is inspiring Japanese GLBT bloggers to describe their own ‘coming out’ experiences.
Hindi Blogosphere: Ad Revenue, Bollywood and other stories
A number of English-speaking bloggers in India are starting to generate decent revenue from the Google Ads on their blogs. But popular Hindi bloggers find that their AdSense options are just about zero. Should aspiring Hindi bloggers switch to English, or will Hindi-language advertising soon hit its online golden age?
Growing Up Blogging in Rural Uruguay
Rising Voices grantee Pablo Flores, who is in charge of the implementation of the One Laptop Per Child program in Uruguay, believes that the XO laptop is more than just an educational tool. He also sees the lime green laptops as an important communication device which he hopes will allow all Uruguayan students to be heard by the rest of their country and participate in the online conversations which will affect their future.
Moroccan bloggers call for education reform
When the World Bank recently announced that Middle Eastern and North African nations need to improve their education systems in order to reach their development goals and be competitive in a globalized market, it sent ripples through Morocco’s Francophone blogosphere, prompting calls to improve the nation’s ailing education system.
Venezuela: Rafael Bolívar Coronado, Writer With Unorthodox Methods
He claimed to have authored works under more than 600 different pseudonyms, many of which published parodies of his editor who never was able to find out who wrote them. He also claimed to dislike the song which made him famous, El Alma Llanera. Laura Vidal shows us that Rafael Bolívar Coronado, one of Venezuela’s most infamous, if not famous, writers is still inspiring active conversation among his country’s blogosphere.
Turkey is Typing… Turban or No Turban?
The “Turban” (or Islamic Headscarf) in Turkey has always been a hot-button issue within the Republic. This week, the Turkish parliament approved a preliminary bill that would allow women to wear headscarves at University….the result of which has caused an outcry from many sections of Turkish society. Turkish bloggers look at the issue itself, whether or not the headscarf is a political or religious symbol, and discuss if the lifting of the headscarf ban is a sign of a positive democratic process or the slow takeover of a religious autocracy.
Roundups
Speaking out against the treatment of Saudi women, making costumes for Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago, honoring Putin on the big screen … and lots more in today’s Global Roundups.