Stories about Economics & Business from October, 2006
Honduras, Uganda: Kiva Microfinancing
Global Voices readers are surely dedicated to staying informed about the rest of the world. But the Internet can also enable us to make positive change. “La Gringa” describes how Kiva lets internet users invest in microcrediting loans around the world. Just two days after writing about Honduran loan applicants...
Africa: China-Africa connection
The Sub-Saharan Africa Roundtable on China-African connection:”No wonder when you consider that trade between China and Africa amounted to $38 billion in 2005, according to the World Bank. What upsets westerners is how China’s investments ignore human rights.”
Singapore: Thoughts on China-South East Asian Nations Summit
Beyond.sg has Singapore's Foreign Minister guest blogging and sharing his views on the recently concluded China-ASEAN(Association of South East Asian Nations) summit.
Jamaica: Striking it rich
Francis Wade considers what could happen if Jamaica were suddenly to strike it rich.
Japan: confession service
Lee at Tokyo Times introduces a confession service in Japan. Most of the clients are men in 30s who want to express their love but are afraid of being rejected.
Kazakhstan: Social Business Corporations
KZBlog reports on Kazakhstan's plan to found “social business corporations” in the country's regions to drive economic growth and meet social needs. Though the idea behind them is seemingly similar to “social entrepreneurship,” KZBlog notes that no one seems too interested in the social end of the things with the...
Brunei: New GDP Figure
The guest blogger at Brunei Resources explains why the new GDP figure for Brunei is both a good news as well as bad news.
Ethiopia: clash over trademark
Ethan discusses the clash between the Ethiopian government and Starbucks over trademark, “Last year, the Ethiopian government filed trademark applications to protect the names “Sidaro”, “Harar” and “Yirgacheffe” – the hope was to prevent unscrupulous coffee dealers from buying inexpensive beans from other countries and selling them as “Sidaro”, whether...
Arabisc: Sexual Harrassment and the Egyptian Blogosphere
After a month of abstinence (from sex naturally) during daylight hours in the Holy month of Ramadhan, a mob of sex starved Egyptians decided to celebrate Eid by attacking and sexually harassing women on the streets of Cairo. The first the incident was made public was during a television show,...
Voices from Zimbabwe
Following recent reports chronicling the decline in Zimbabwe's HIV/AIDS prevalence, the spotlight has now been turned on to the effect anti-AIDS campaigns have wrought on traditional Zimbabwean morals and values: Zimbabwe's lead in condom use and condom sale worldwide has produced mixed reactions, with some sections of society welcoming the...
Japan: sex's trade
“It is expected that in 2007 the sex industry in Japan will surpass the car manufacturing industry in terms of gross capital net gains”, reported by Alexpappas in Japundit.
Dispatch from Uganda
The tenuous peace talks in Juba, Sudan, between the Government of Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) continue for a third month, with each side accusing the other of non-compliance with the cessation of hostilities agreement. However, complete breakdown of the talks was averted when the Government of Southern...
Russia: TsUM, Golden Telecom, VTB
Snowsquare writes about shopping at Moscow's TsUM and the rebranding of Golden Telecom and VneshTorgBank.
Cambodia: Review of a Cambodian Online Job Site
Vutha in Cambodia reviews BestCareerFinder.com, a recruitment site created by Cambodian students.
Africa: PayPal expansion into Africa
Oluniyi David Ajao writes about PayPal expansion into Africa, “Hitherto, South Africa had been the only African country supported by Paypal. The popular online financial institution has now extended its services to Botswana, Cape Verde, Namibia, Togo and Tunisia, on the African continent. In all the six countries however, users...
Dominica: Independence
On the occasion of Dominica's independence, Kenny Green affirms the strength of the island's culture while sounding a warning: “Dominica has some major questions to ask itself about independence. Most of our income was from a protected relationship with Europe which we scream to regain, brokered by England. Our current...
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Exploring the Pyramid
“Bosnian Pyramid? – Visocica Hill” – by sjareb It's been over a year since the whole Bosnian pyramid media fuss started. Still, many talk about the possible discovery of Europe’s first step pyramid complex. The event is significant for Bosnia & Herzegovina's recovery, as it brings positive media attention and...
Africa: will India compete with China in Africa?
Africabeat on India's investment in Africa,”Well it may not be as big of a story (India is democratic and English-speaking. China is everyone's favorite whipping boy), India is clearly looking to expand its business presence in Africa.”
Voices from South Asia
Bangladesh: - What does Bangladesh need now for a better future? Angelmorn has a ten point prescription. - Rifat of Close your eyes and try to see is critic about the noise pollution in Bangladesh, especially using the loudspeakers. - Shafiur of imperfect world | 2006 informs that many of...
Russia: Thoughts on LiveJournal/ZheZhe
The Second Blog War continues in Russia. Brad Fitzpatrick, the LiveJournal's creator, has now joined the discussion over at sup_ru LJ community: in English, he offers some explanations and apologies here (and receives 248 comments so far) and lists the bloggers’ most common questions and concerns here (123 comments so...
Kyrgyzstan: Joining the Russian Federation
Yulia of neweurasia notes that a Kyrgyz politician recently said that Kyrgyzstan should become part of the Russian Federation and she explains why this might make sense.
