Stories about Development from December, 2007
China: Xiamen PX
ESWN translated an article from Southern Weekend which described in detail the negotiation among governments, Xiamen people and business over the Xiamen PX project.
South Korea: The Bulldozer Triumphant
Matt blogs about the demolition of Dongdaemun Stadium, a place for street vendors who previously were relocated from the old Cheonggye expressway (the present Cheonggyecheon).
Kyrgyzstan: Teaching finance
Bboyd reacts on the predicted unemployment catastrophe among young people in the developing countries, and gives some recommendations for the aid organizations on how to fight it.
Afghanistan: Tribalism, a true enemy
Sanjar opines that the reason Iraq and Afghanistan remain unsettled battlefields isn't that our two civilizations can't agree on the nature of God, but because they can't agree on the nature of man.
Albania: On Corruption and Bribery
Kolin of Living in Shkoder writes about corruption in Albania and answers a reader's question: “As a foreigner, have you ever bribed an Albanian official?”
The troubled pasts of Burkina Faso
The United Nations Development Programme recently released its 2007/2008 Human Development Index. Burkina Faso dropped from the world’s fourth poorest country to its second poorest. Burkina Mom found it sadly ironic that development indicators are falling while the government throws itself a huge party for National Day, replete with a huge parade and many festivities.
Russia: Yegor Gaidar's Book
Streetwise Professor reviews Yegor Gaidar's new book: “I believe that Gaidar is right that down this path lies ruin. I fear, however, that Russia will have to find this out the hard way. So Yegor Gaidar is a prophet without honor in his own country, among his own kin, and...
Lithuania: Coffee and Health Care
Music and Life – Everywhere! writes about Vilnius coffee houses and health care costs.
Sri Lanka: Three years after the Tsunami
Chuls Bits & Pics on the tsumani, after three years – remembering those who died, and asking where all the money went.
China: Sobbing without tears
A land thirsty for water is calling for help. How many more villages would die out due to the drought? How much more land would be eroded, even buried by sand?
Kazakhstan: What is Ak-Orda?
Arseny posts a funny story that vividly indicates how many people living in Astana’s Old Town – a Soviet provincial cityscape – sometimes do not have any idea of what is happening on the Left Bank, where the Shining New Capital of Kazakhstan is rapidly growing.
Afghanistan: More aid, more personnel
Bboyd reviews a new report on aid progress in Afghanistan, published by Senlis, a European-based think tank, which is saying that aid inflows have been inadequate.
Africa: Will No One Let Africa Speak for Itself?”
Kenyan Pundit asks, “Will No One Let Africa Speak for Itself?”: “However, I’m have been pretty outspoken about the fact that I’m tired of the Bono’s and Sach’s of this world articulating my views as an African.”
Russia: Andrew Kuchins’ Report
Eternal Remont writes about Andrew C. Kuchins’ “Alternative Futures for Russia to 2017″ report and the Russian media's reaction to it.
China: Pollution map of China released
Just days after organizers of next year's Beijing Olympics say the games might need to be rescheduled due to harmful pollution levels, prominent environmentalists release their China Air Pollution Map, showing how and where more than 4,000 corporations—multinationals among them—have left their toxic mark, names included.
Slovenia: Urbanc Store Renovations
Jennifer Dorroh writes about renovations at Ljubljana’s Urbanc Store, a 104-year-old art nouveau landmark.
Trinidad & Tobago: Give One, Get One?
“While there may well have been practical reasons to limit participation in the programme to the US and Canada, I find the idea philosophically distasteful and steeped in on-behalfism”: Caribbean Free Radio blogs about the One Laptop Per Child, Give One Get One programme.
Environment: In Bali, an inconvenient last minute proposal from the US
Global voices has been following the climate change talks in Bali, via the special coverage page. The following posts also appear as part of the aggregated feed to Reuters indicate a developing story coming out of Bali. Yesterday, Rory of Carbonsmart expressed discouragement with the talks in Bali, saying In...
China: Public Opinion on Xiamen PX
Joel Martinsen from DANWEI reports on a public opinion poll on the construction of the Xiamen PX chemical factory. 55,376 of 58,454 votes were cast against the project. Lian yue writes in detail opinions from the public hearing on Dec 13 (zh).
South Korea: City Redevelopment Plan
Robert Koehler from Marmot's Hole blogs pictures of the latest downtown city redevelopment plan to be completed by June 2009.
Russia: Labels and Comparisons
A discussion of labels, comparisons and various development models that could be applied to Russia and its leaders – at Sean's Russia Blog.
