Stories about Economics & Business from December, 2011
Brazil: “We Have Overtaken the United Kingdom's GDP. So What?”
The news, published in the international press and echoed by the country's media, filled nationalist Brazilians with with pride and optimism, and left those who analysed the numbers more closely concerned. Bloggers ponder the meaning of being the world's sixth largest country in terms of Gross Domestic Product, and occupying the 84th position in Human Development Index.
Online Highlights from the Portuguese-Speaking World in 2011
2011 has been another year in which bloggers and activists from a number of Portuguese-speaking countries have come together to report, translate and promote blogs and citizen media from all over the world. This article selects the highlights in the coverage of Lusophone countries on Global Voices over the last year.
Macedonia: Pioneering Battery Disposal Initiative
Greener, a Macedonian NGO, blogged [mk] about their pilot-project Go Clean [FB page, mk], which aims to grow into a national campaign for proper disposal of used batteries and accumulators.
China: Dairy Company's Website Hacked by Angry Netizens
The latest round of tainted milk scandals broke out last week in China. The country's biggest dairy producer, Mengniu Dairy Co., admitted that some of its milk products contained aflatoxin – a cancer-causing substance. To express their anger, Chinese info-activists hacked Mengniu's official website last night (December 28, 2011). Below...
China telecommunications market
Tricia wang discusses about the anti-monopoly infringement investigation against the China Telecom and its implications on the China telecommunications market.
Macedonia: Health System Software Vendor Lock-in
Novica Nakov warned [mk] that the state discriminates against users of operating systems like GNU/Linux or Mac OS X, purporting vendor lock-in by forcing medical doctors to use the latest version of Windows as the only platform for the obligatory e-health card software [mk] by the Fund for Health Insurance...
Lebanon: Electric Xmas Decorations
From Lebanon, Habib Battah draws our attention to Christmas decorations in Lebanon, where the decorations are lit and and the electricity in the street lamps is switched off during the night, and on during the day. Check out the photographs accompanying the post.
Cambodia: One Province, One Product Trade and Exhibit
Sreisaat blogs about the One Province, One Product Trade and Exhibit in Koh Pich, Cambodia. Some of the featured products were giant cassava crops and squash from Kampong Speu, assorted gemstones from the mine pits of Pailin, and mixed spices from Siem Reap.
Cambodia: Impact of Organic Farming
Maylee Thavat studies the impact of organic rice farming and fair trade production in Cambodia. The author warns that it could ‘impose First World consumer ideals and tastes that are out of step with the larger realities of agrarian transition’ in the country
Latin America: Youth Unemployment
Bloggings by boz looks at youth unemployment in Latin America, concluding that “with growth projections decreased for 2011 and 2012, the current situation for youth unemployment is almost certainly getting worse. That could have major economic, political and social implications moving into 2012.”
Liberia: Who Was at Fault for Monrovia Riots?
The Christmas vacation job scheme designed by Liberia's President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to benefit 3,000 students turned Liberia's capital, Monrovia, into a scene of violence and destruction. Who was at fault?, netizens ask.
Bhutan: In Search of the Ngultrum Identity
PaSsu wonders about the the Identity of the Ngultrum, the currency of Bhutan
Hungary: Presidents in Correspondence, Journalist in Blind Copy
Attila Mong, a Hungarian journalist, has obtained and published on his blog the letter sent by José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, to the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán. Marietta Le reports.
Spain: Fighting for the Right to a Home
The housing bubble, the financial crisis, and high unemployment rates have left thousands of families without homes in Spain and the victims of foreclosures have names and stories to tell.
Armenia: Activists Demand Controversial Governor's Dismissal
Surik Khachatryan, the governor of Armenia's southern Syunik province, has been making headlines in the last month for all the wrong reasons. No stranger to controversy, activists are now demanding his dismissal.
China: Qingdao's Real Estate Bubble
Steven Dickinson argues that China's real estate market has bursted by sharing his observations in Qingdao, where new residential real estate projects in have fallen an average of 30% within 6 months.
Iran: Plunging national currency
Iranian rial, hit a new low Tuesday, with the US dollar sells for more than 15000 rials (1500 Tomans). khodrahagaran writes [fa] people rushed to banks to exchange their rials into dollars and euros.
Cuba: owing obsolete rubles
Cuba has a longstanding debt to Russia of 20 million Soviet rubles — a currency that no longer exists. Machetera asks: “how and when do you decide what a vanished currency is really worth?”
Brazil: How Many Lives Does the Guarani-Kaiowá's Land Cost?
Last November, 42 gunmen attacked an indigenous reserve in Mato Grosso do Sul, executing Nísio Gomes, 59, chief of the Guaraní Kaiowá and several other villagers. These attacks take place at the same time as Brazil consolidates its position as one of the leading exporters of agricultural goods and biofuels in the world, and Mato Grosso do Sul one of its most productive states.
Russia: Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the 2012 Presidential Election
Incarcerated since 2003, Mikhail Khodorkovsky is once again in Russia's political spotlight as presidential candidate Mikhail Prokhorov vows to pardon him if he's elected next spring. Donna Welles reports.
Bangladesh: Why A Region Is Poor?
Basher tries to analyze why a large region in the north of Bangladesh remains poor.
