Stories about Development from October, 2007
Touring Libyan Blogs: Eid el Fitr 2008
Fozia Mohamed, our Libya volunteer, is back to blogging after a short break, with news and views from the Libyan blogosphere. Issues covered this week include readjusting to life in Libya after living in the UK, medical ethics and the Maqams - the resting places of 'Saints' and men of religion.
Czech Rebublic: Radar Base, Pro and Con
Petr Bokuvka of The Czech Daily Word argues that the Brdy Mountains villagers should welcome the U.S. radar base: “They know they can live without the base and they refuse to even consider what they could do after the base is built. Not just with the money their municipalities receive,...
Hungary: New Building, Old Facade
Pestcentric posts a picture of a new building being built around the old facade.
Taiwan: Freeway Project
Michael Turton blogs about a 89 km freeway project between Suao and Hualien. The project has been opposed by environmental groups but back to agenda after the recent typhoon attack.
Africa: Grant competition for Africans in Europe
“The World Bank Group and its partners announce the Development Marketplace for African Diaspora in Europe (D-MADE) Grant Competition,” via Kenyan Pundit.
China: The Richest of the Rich
Hurun and Forbes have both published the 2007 wealthy lists of mainland China. A 26-year-old woman as a real-estate developer topped both lists with a rough worth of $16 billion. However, the stories behind the stellar names again arouse public's questions, criticisms and controversies. What is going on beyond the lists?
Uganda: Of Cons, Cars And Losing a Job Because Of a Blog
This week, Ugandan Insomniac poses an always pressing question that sets the tone for much discourse, "Why are millions of Ugandans still living in abject poverty when an increasing number of people in the country can afford a brand new set of wheels and personalized number plates every year?"
Moldova: Women's Representation
TOL's Moldova Matters reports: “At the present moment, women’ participation and representation in political and social spheres is far from satisfactory and equal. However, some inclinations to eradicate gender-biased approaches are also observed, predominantly among the erudite society.”
Belarus: “European Choice”
TOL's Belarus argues that the “European Choice” is actually “a ticket for Titanic.”
Waiting in the PMR
Lyndon Allin translates a few posts by bloggers from the PMR, "the secessionist entity (or de facto state, depending on your preferred terminology) located along Moldova's eastern border on a patch of land called Transnistria, Transdniestria, Transdniester, Transdnestr, or Pridnestrovie (again, depending on your preference and politics)."
China: World Record
Voice in V360 have a list of Chinese records in the world (zh): 1. accounts for 80% death in mine accidents; 2. accounts for 30% suicide rate in the world; 3. has 7 cities in the top pollution list; etc.
Myanmar: Healing Myanmar
Burmese blogger Moemoe has some ideas on how to move Myanmar towards a more normal country.
Bahamas: Death of the neighbourhood
“The neighbourhood — that locale which is a citizen's larger home … is dying in Nassau,” writes Nicolette Bethel at Bahama Pundit, as she urges a rethinking of urban planning policy in the Bahamas.
Russia: Indigenous Peoples’ Land Problems
Window on Eurasia reports that some indigenous peoples of Russia have been “reduced to the status of poachers” on their own land.
Hong Kong: Global City Transportation Network
Chu from zoomimagining comments on a talk given by Arjun Appadurai on the global city transportation network (zh). He feels that the situation in Hong Kong is similar to Appadurai's description, the segregation between rich and poor is very serious because of the government's planning policy.
Hong Kong: PLA Berth Won't Open To Public
Hoidick from inmediahk.net quoted from the planning department in a public forum that the future People Liberation Army Berth in Central waterfront, wouldn't be opened to public access (zh). Earlier on, top government official openly said that the PLA berth would be opened to public access when it is not...
East Timor: Rural Connectivity
Living Timorously blogs tries to dispel the notion that poor or rural users do not need connectivity.
China: Shenzhen Nailhouse Owners
“According to Guangdong province statistics, 98% of all nail house owners die in car accidents.” A shenzhen city government official told the nail house owners who had just received millions of compensation from the developer. ESWN has translated the story from next weekly.
China: Land Price
Yaoblog calculated the land price differences between the land expropriation price and the government listed price to the developers (zh). It is up to RMB4-500,000,000. Where does the money go then?
Albania: Buying Property
Kolin of Living in Shkoder, Albania offers advice on buying property in Albania – “as one who has bought land, and an apartment in Albania.”
India: Ethics and Slum Tours
Mumbai Magic on poverty, and the ethics of slum tours.
