Stories about English from June, 2009
‘Buy Indonesia’ campaign
A campaign was launched encouraging Indonesian consumers and companies to patronize locally-made products and services.
Indonesia: Candidates seek support of bloggers
Indonesian candidates are seeking the support of popular bloggers in order to win more votes.
Indonesia: Vice President Debate
Indonesia conducted a debate among vice president hopefuls. My Busy Brain thinks the candidates were all colorul. Listen to the audio podcast of the debate.
Malaysia: RM1 million payment as tourism ambassador
SK Thew reacts to a report about the RM1 million given to former Ferrari Formula One team boss Jean Todt to spend over two years as Malaysia’s Tourism ambassador.
South Africa: To vuvuzela or not to vuvuzela?
Discussions about the popular instrument called the vuvuzela blown by South African football fans have dominated the blogosphere since the beginning of Confederations Cup 2009 in South Africa, which ended last week. Journalists, TV viewers, coaches and some foreign players called for a ban of the instrument during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The debate is as loud as the instrument itself.
Palestine: Harsh Treatment By Egyptian Border Authorities
Lebanese activist Natalie Abou Shakra, who has been in the Gaza Strip for seven months, is now being prevented from entering Egypt by the Egyptian authorities. Witnessing the treatment of...
Bahrain: Comparing Government Efficiency In Bahrain And Japan
Bahraini blogger Yagoob is studying in Japan, and he compares the experience of receiving financial aid from the Bahraini and Japanese governments: “Nagoya is a city with a population of...
Pakistan: The Real Problem
Talkhaba points to the water shortage problem in some provinces of Pakistan and criticizes the bickering between the political parties representing provinces, who blamed each other.
Bahrain: The Failure Of Education
Mahmood responds to a recently issued official report about the standards of education in Bahrain: “Education in this country is a joke, generally. Things will not change unless the decrepit...
Sri Lanka: No To Beef
Sri Lankan blog Scourge comments on a poster that advocates how cruel it is to slaughter a cow and for that we should refrain from eating beef: “how you can...
Sri Lanka: Post War Politics
Dayan Jayatilleka at Groundviews discusses about the politics of the post war Sri Lanka.
Russia: Another journalist death
Eternal Remont reports that the editor of a Rostov-on-Don newspaper has died from injuries of a beating last month, supposedly provoked by his paper's reporting.
Egyptian Blogger Wael Abbas: Detained at Cairo Airport
Upon his arrival from Sweden at the Cairo Airport, blogger Wael Abbas tweets the details of his detention at Cairo Airport. The Arabist reported saying: Egyptian mega-blogger Wael Abbas is being...
Trinidad & Tobago: Memory Lane
Diaspora blogger Jumbie's Watch remembers the simple pleasures of growing up in Trinidad and Tobago, saying: “Times have changed.”
Puerto Rico: For Shame!
Litter mars one of Gil the Jenius‘ favorite Puerto Rican beaches, causing him to comment: “Every piece of garbage–every one of the thousands of pieces of garbage–indicts Us with its...
Haiti, U.S.A.: Danticat Cops Guillén Prize
Repeating Islands reports that Haitian-born author Edwidge Danticat has won the 2009 Caribbean Philosophical Association’s Nicolás Guillén Prize.
Jamaica: Hangings to Resume
Upon hearing news that the Jamaican government intends to resume hangings, Iriegal is both sad and fearful that the decision is the right one.
Guyana: Man in the Mirror
Guyana-Gyal thinks there just might be a little bit of Michael Jackson in all of us: “We might colour that bit a different shade, call it another name, but there...
Estonia: Budget cuts and GDP decrease
A Fistful Of Euros points at the link between budget cuts and GDP decrease in Estonia.
Serbia: History and architecture
Nothing against Serbia discusses Belgrade architecture and its influence by both Byzantine and nationalist heritage, illustrating his point with pictures and plans of the city's former main telephone exchange building.
Russia: Lingering high mortality rates
Streetwise Professor writes about the prevalent high mortality rates among the Russian population, based on figures from the Lancet published by Reuters, with interesting comments by Sublime Oblivion.
