Stories about Development from November, 2009
Bloggers Remember TEDIndia: The Good, the Bad and the Quirky
When the legendary TED conference came down to India, Indian bloggers were understandably excited. Some of the bloggers participated in the event and Gaurav Mishra was one of them. In this post he compiles a roundup of bloggers reactions to the TEDIndia 2009 conference, which took place earlier this month in Mysore, India.
Qatar: No one is above the law – really?
Doha bloggers bemused, incredulous and wistful by official remarks that no one in Qatar is above the law. A debate over the merits of that statement quickly evolves into a discussion on press freedom, as more clamor for a new law press law, free from any imprisonment penalties against journalists.
China: Interview with Lu Guang, the photographer of “Pollution in China”
China Hush has translated local online media Netease's interview with Lu Guang, who won this year W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography with a set of photos featuring “Pollution in China”.
Barbados, Jamaica: Focus on Flogging
“How to deal with discipline in a society is never easy,” says Living in Barbados, who adds that “Barbados is still working its way towards a wider acceptance that flogging is not the way to go.”
Nigeria: Nigerian bloggers receives Change Agent Award
Nigerian blogger Ore writes about the award she received at the Grace Hopper celebration of women in computing: “I was awarded the Change Agent Award along with 2 other African women (1 from Nigeria and 1 from Kenya).”
Puerto Rico: Talking ‘Bout A Revolution
Gil the Jenius suggests that the recent protests in Puerto Rico weren't enough.
India: Women Farmers Stand Against Climate Change
A group of women in India have demonstrated that despite the existing gender inequity and their low economic status, they can become a powerful resource to tackle climate change and reduce the emissions that cause it.
Malawi: Fighting poverty with social enterprise
Clement writes about The Big Issue project in Malawi: “This project is affiliated to the Big Issue, London. It has the same objective of working as a social enterprise to fight poverty and homelessness by providing business and creative solutions through selling of The Big Issue magazine.”
Angola: The high cost of living in Luanda
The high cost of living in the country is paradoxical: Angola's high development indicators are not reflected in the finances of the majority of Angola's citizens and do not translate to quality of life for those less economically well off.
Southern Madagascar Hit Hard by Severe Drought and Toxic Spill
While the political direction of Madagascar remains mired in total uncertainty since the coup d'etat in March, in Addis Ababa, the international community is again trying to mediate an agreement between the various political movements. The president of the African Union and one of the mediators present in Addis Ababa,...
Barbados, Jamaica: Debt Downgrades
“Jamaica's government kicked up a terrific stink with Standard and Poor's (S&P) after the rating agency again downgraded the country's debt”: Living in Barbados wonders how “Barbados’ normally more polite and circumspect politicians” will react to more downgrades.
Algeria: 50 Top Algerians
Looking for the 50 top Algerians? “Jeune Afrique has run an nice special on the 50 people who make Algeria what it is — politicians, policemen, generals, business people, cultural luminaries, and others,” writes Alle, at the Maghreb Politics Review.
Bhutan: The Purpose Of Saving The Earth
Bhutan is a low emission country but its progress and the increase of standard of living risk more carbon emissions. “Why protect our environment if it comes at the cost of economic development?”, questions Di at On The Job blog while discussing about how Bhutan can progress. She argues: “between...
Serbia: Sinisa Boljanovic Wins Climate Change Blogging Contest
Sinisa Boljanovic, a GV author and Lingua Serbian editor, became one of the winners of Round 1 of TH!NK2: CLIMATE CHANGE blogging contest; here's Sinisa's winning entry: Black Point of the Danube Basin.
CEE: “20 Years After the Fall of the Berlin Wall” – a Poll
Foreign Policy Association's Russia blog writes about the results of a Pew Research Center's poll on poverty, wealth and attitudes in Central and Eastern Europe “20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Silicon Reality
Taran Rampersad debunks “the Myth of a T&T Silicon Valley.”
Morocco: Here Comes the Sun
Morocco has announced this week the launch of a solar energy project, with an estimated cost of $9 billion, aiming at raising the share of renewable sources in the country's energy production. Mostly supportive bloggers have been sharing their thoughts.
Barbados: Whipping Boy
“We seem determined to deny our history, rather than learn from it. Why else would we, who have been so wounded by the whip, venerate it?” B.C. Pires puts in his two cents’ worth on the recent flogging of schoolchildren in Barbados.
Japan: Debating the fate of Shimokitazawa
Tokyo's neighborhood of Shimokitazawa is well-known for its complicated spaghetti-like web of shop-lined streets, train tracks and back alleyways, but that web may be in for a big change. Plans to redevelop the area to make way for a 26-meter wide thoroughfare had already aroused opposition among some of the area's fans, but a proposed new design scheme for the local train station has added fuel to the flames. Blogger Hideaki Matsunaga explains why.
Hong Kong: Luxury housing Ads
ESWN brings the readers’ attention to a recent judgment by the Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority on an Ads of a luxury development project for being misleading. You can see the Ads and the actual site via ESWN.
Madagascar: Economic Update
Is the economy going down in Madagascar?: “If recent trends persisted during September, three new developments seem to indicate a deterioration in public finance and economic activities: (i) the Government borrowed on the domestic financial market (about half of its monthly expenditures) for the first time since the beginning of...
