Stories about English from February, 2011
Pakistan: Dog Fight In Abbottabad District
Adil Najam at All Things Pakistan reports about the practice of dog fight sport near the village of Lora in Abbottabad District, which is cruel and horrific.
Maldives: Abolishing the Government Bond system
Hassan Ziyau asks whether abolishing the Government Bond system in Maldives would be a wise decision.
Macedonia: Musings on the Early Elections
The Macedonian public is furiously discussing the justification and timing of the upcoming early elections.
Bahrain: Protests Block National Assembly Building
Anti government protesters on Monday morning blocked the National Council building where both Parliament and the Shura (Consultative) Councils hold their weekly sessions. The reason for the protest in front of the National Assembly is to topple the bicameral system in addition to the protesters' other demands for a new constitution and the toppling of the regime.
Uruguay: Growing Support for Decriminalizing Marijuana for Personal Use
Erwin C. reports: “Political support has reportedly been growing in favor of decriminalizing the use of marijuana. Legislator Sebastián Sabini told the local press that he would introduce a bill this week that would allow individuals to legally have 25 grams of marijuana for personal use.”
Honduras: Taxi Drivers and Teachers Strike
“La Gringa” blogs about a strike led by teachers and taxi drivers in La Ceiba on February 21. “This was the third national strike of the school year, which only began on Monday, February 14,” she writes.
Mexico: Photos of Tlacotalpan, “the most colourful place in the globe”
Catherine from Small Fish in the Big Taco shares colour coded images of “a very sleepy town in the state of Veracruz….namely Tlacotalpan.” She calls Tlacotalpan, “the most colourful place in the globe!!”
Philippines: Laptop registration proposal
Tonyo Cruz from the Philippines gathers online reactions to the proposal of a government agency to require the registration of laptops to prevent cybercrimes.
Haiti: Preventable Suffering
“The earthquake did not kill people. Bad buildings killed people. Lack of medical care killed people. Lack of infrastructure killed people. Lack of caring government officials kill[s] people”: Dying in Haiti is convinced that “most Haitian suffering is not necessary and is preventable in the first place.”
Australia: ‘Tea Party’ Style Campaign Against Carbon Tax
If the Oz blogosphere is any indication, the next Australian Federal election will be a referendum on a proposed climate tax. And the issue has already become nasty and personal. GV author Kevin Rennie gathers online reactions to this controversial measure.
Bahamas: The Right to Speak Out
“I always have and always will speak up when my rights as a homeowner, a citizen and a human being are being threatened”: Womanish Words believes that her voice is the most powerful tool she has.
Cuba: Damas de Blanco Attacked
Bloggers discuss the latest crackdown on Cuban dissidents.
Singapore: Doctor charges patient with $24.8 million bill
Anonymous_X gathers news reports about a doctor in Singapore who charged her patient from Brunei with a $24.8 million bill
Caribbean: Bocas Announces Longlist
“The OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature — which will be awarded for the first time this year — has announced its 2011 longlist of ten books”: Caribbean bloggers discuss.
Trinidad & Tobago: The Death Penalty
“Faced with a major problem with serious crime in Trinidad & Tobago, the current government is ( rather predictably) pushing for the reimplementation of the death penalty”: Globewriter is heartened by “a few young activists who are…speaking out” against the move.
Cuba: Watching from Within
“There has not [been] enough coverage or information to even begin to address the complexity of these events and the numberless perspectives interpreting them”: Graham Sowa blogs at Havana Times about watching the Middle East protests from Cuba.
Trinidad & Tobago: Saving by Sou Sou
“A sou sou is structured where one person will be in charge of collecting monies from a group of people. All the monies collected will be given to one person in the group, on selected dates, and it rotates that way until each person has received what they call, a...
Cuba: The Day Zapata Died
Iván's File Cabinet remembers the day that hunger striker and prisoner of conscience Orlando Zapata Tamayo died.
Turks & Caicos, Barbados: Disappearing Blog
The tcipost blog “disappeared overnight without notice”; Barbados Free Press comes to the rescue.
Singapore: Runaway maids
Flying Low reacts to the news about the increasing number of runaway maids in Singapore.
Jamaica: Nothing for the Youth?
“We too busy having dramatic, Days-of-our-lives type enquiries to stop for a minute and realise that this year, more than any other year to date, is all about us. It's about the African people. It's about youth”: Ruthibelle is dismayed that the UN International Year of Youth is not being...