Stories about Economics & Business from July, 2011
Latvia: Arguing the Failed State Case
Juris Kaža of Failed State Latvia? argues why he thinks that Latvia is a failed state lite, and provides historical and socioeconomic reasons for his case.
Chile: Starbucks Employees on Hunger Strike
In Chile, a cup of coffee at Starbucks costs more than the baristas’ wages for one hour of work. This is what the 3 union leaders [es] on hunger strike...
U.S.A., Japan: The US Declares War On The Japanese Mafia
Investigative journalist Jake Adelstein reported [en] that US President Obama has officially declared war on the Yakuza, the Japanese mafia, as it represents an “extraordinary threat to the national security,...
Hungary: Situation of Roma
Eva Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum writes about the situation of Roma in Hungary against the beckground of US-talks with representatives of the Roma group in the country.
Slovenia: New Twists in Arms Bribery Affaire
Sleeping With Pengovsky posts an update about new developments in Slovenia's scandal over bribery in the Patria affaire concerning purchase of Armoured Personnel Carriers from a Finnish company.
Armenia: The Barber of Ashtarak
Ianyan pays a visit to Ashtarak, a small city just outside Yerevan, the Armenian capital, and a local barber's shop. The blog posts photographs and a brief account of the...
Haiti: Martelly's Promises
Toussaint on Haiti suggests that Haitians who voted for a Martelly presidency may now be suffering from buyers’ remorse.
Puerto Rico: Libraries and Reading
Gil the Jenius puts forward a theory about why “there are no decent libraries on the island”, adding that with the current levels of Internet penetration, “We don't have any...
Trinidad & Tobago: National Strike on the Horizon?
Caribbean Journal reports that Trinidad and Tobago may soon be facing a national strike.
Africa: Membership Opens For mLab SA
Application for membership for mLab Southern Africa has opened: “The mLab SA provides incubation support to mobile developers and entrepreneurs through the following services: subsidised office space with meeting rooms...
Bulgaria-Russia: Refinery Shutdown Causes Oil Crisis
John Helmer of Dances With Bears reports that a Bulgarian government-imposed shutdown of the Lukoil-owned Burgas refinery threatens to create an oil crisis in the country, and goes on to...
Lebanon: Maritime Dispute with Israel Escalates
Hezballah leader Hassan Nasrallah has exclaimed that God had given Lebanon an opportunity to rid itself of a crippling debt, and become a "rich country" by providing it lucrative offshore oil and gas reserves. However, the reserves potentially lie in a disputed maritime border zone with Israel.
Hungary: Government Debt Cut Receives Varying Reviews
Edward Hugh of Hungary Economy Watch comments on reactions to the Hungarian government's decision to drastically cut public debt.
Cambodia: #camlabor hashtag
Cambodians tweeting about migration, labour and trafficking issues in Cambodia are urged to use the #camlabor hashtag
Belarus: Overview of Political and Economic Situation
An overview of the political and economic situation in Belarus – by Natalia Leshchenko at OpenDemocracy.net.
Jamaica: An Anime Nation to be Reckoned With
Jamaipanese says that this year's Anime Nation was “bigger and better” than its inaugural event, calling it “an epic event for fans of anime, cosplay, video games and Japan as...
Russia: Megafon/Yandex Text Message Leak
Svetlana Gladkova of Profy writes that “one of the largest Russian mobile carriers [Megafon] and the leading Russian search engine [Yandex] need to explain quite a lot of things to...
Republic of Congo: Is the New ‘Made In Africa’ Tablet Actually Chinese?
A new ‘made in Africa' tablet computer from the Republic of Congo was announced in June 2011 to much fanfare. While technical innovation in Africa is worth celebrating, it's worth double-checking whether the new VMK tablet is actually designed, developed and engineered in Congo as advertised.
Peru: Football, TV Ads, Mining and Social Networks
On Tuesday, July 19, while Peruvians suffered with the semifinal match between Peru-Uruguay for the Copa América, netizens who were watching the game had a reason to tweet with anger: an advertising spot aired during halftime which used the traditional rivalry between Peru and Chile to find supporters against increasing the mining windfall tax.
Slovakia: Big Money in the Tube
A few weeks ago, the Slovak Performing and Mechanical Rights society (SOZA) - the country's music copyright organization - started billing web servers, typically for young music fans, which were embedding YouTube and Vimeo videos on their pages. Tibor Blazko reports on the Slovak netizens' reactions.
Azerbaijan: Fascinated by Georgia
Şüarımız GƏLƏCƏK! [AZ] travels to Georgia and becomes charmed by the beauty and “scent of democracy” the country offers in the region. The blogger notes that while his home country...
