Stories about English from November, 2009
Haiti: Lavalas Banned From Elections
Repeating Islands reports that “Haiti’s electoral council has banned the influential party of exiled former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from next year’s legislative elections.”
Trinidad & Tobago: The Queen & the PM
B.C. Pires pokes fun at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which kicked off in Trinidad and Tobago today.
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: ‘No’ It Is
Vincentian bloggers discuss the fact that the citizenry recently voted ‘No’ to “the current manifestation of a proposed constitution for this country.”
Cuba: Call to Respect Human Rights
As four Cuban dissidents are reportedly arrested in Havana, Uncommon Sense profiles political prisoner Oscar Biscet's call for his compatriots “to join an international campaign set for next month to demand that the Castro dictatorship respect human rights.”
USA: Native American Heritage Day
A new National Native American National Heritage day is being honored in the United States on November 27, the day after most people there celebrated Thanksgiving. Native Americans rejoice - online and elsewhere.
Pakistan: Take Back The Tech Campaign
In Pakistan, P@SH@ (Pakistan Software Houses Association) is pushing the Take Back The Tech initiative forward to take control of technology to end violence against women. They have already launched the campaign on various online platforms.
Nepal: Machine Readable Passport
“I wouldn’t want to cancel my trips due to the the failure of the government to issue passport,” says Xnepali while discussing whether the Nepali government will be able to meet the deadline of producing machine readable passports (MRP) for the Nepalis within four months (April 1, 2010).
Pakistan: A Letter To The Neighbors
To mark the anniversary of Mumbai terror attacks, Yasser Latif Hamdani at Pak Tea House writes a letter to the Indians: “let this day signify an awakening on both sides that (says) enough with this ‘geo-strategic thinking’ of one-upping each other.”
South Asia: Mass Murder Of Animals
Dipen Bhattacharya at Mukto Mona criticizes the rituals of sacrifices – be it during Kali Puja for Hindus or Eid-ul-Adha sacrifices for Muslims. “Man might need to eat meat, but mass murder of helpless animals using brutal methods cannot be considered self-sacrifice,” he opines.
India Should Wake Up On Climate Issues
Supriyo Chaudhuri at Sunday Posts discusses why India must wake up on climate change issues.
India: On Liberation Of Women
“For me the strongest drag force working against my desire to return home is my experience of life as a woman in India,” confesses Heartcrossings while discussing about the lack of freedom, independence and safety of Indian women.
USA: Conflict Cell Phones
Rima Abdelkader reports from New York about ‘conflict cell phones’ in the Democratic Republic of Congo on her CUNY University journalism blog.
Mexico: Viewing Mexican Streets with Google
On November 9th, Mexicans welcomed Google Street View and its digital maps with street level photographs for Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey and other 5 cities, making Mexico the first Latin American country to join Google's service.
Russia: Social Networks Help Find Debtors
Court enforcement officers in Russia actively use social networks to gather information on debtors and their properties, Russian news agency Prime-TASS reports [RUS].
China: Dwelling Narrowness
A popular Chinese drama “Dwelling Narrowness” was “re-scheduled” without explanation recently. ESWN translated various reports and discussions about the drama. A recent development of the drama is that one of the main characters becomes the mistress of a government official in order to help repay her older sister's mortgage.
China: 41 Popular Chinese Internet Memes From 2009
Fauna from ChinaSMACK translated local web portal Netease's pick of 41 popular Chinese internet memes.
Japan: Buy Nothing Day
Started in 1992 in Canada by artist Ted Dave, the Buy Nothing Day movement [en] has spread to more than 60 countries around the world, Japan included. In line with the philosophy of the movement, next Saturday (November 28) Japanese are invited to refrain from shopping and reflect upon their...
Pakistan: Spare The Animals
Pakistani blog Baithak suggests that people should understand the spirit of religion rather than just following the rituals of sacrificing animals during Eid-ul-Azha: “The purpose of sacrifice is to understand the spirit of parting with what you hold dear (your wealth), it is not some muqabla against four-legged animals.”
Pakistan: Activism Against Gender Violence
Teeth Maestro highlights the efforts of Sunshine Welfare Organization (SWO), a group of committed young activists from Karachi and Islamabad. They are trying to mobilize Pakistani youth against gender violence using ICT tools.
India: More Noise
Conversations with Dina criticizes the sensationalism of Indian media in the coverage of the anniversary of the Mumbai attacks: “Just because you have so much footage during the terror attacks, does it mean it is revamped and repackaged into more and more noise (don’t forget the background dhadam dhadam music!)?”
India: Home-Bred Terror
Indian blogger Soumyadip at Cutting the Chai comments: “On this first anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, more than Kasab & Co. it is the home-bred terror, that people just refer to by other names, that pesters me.”
