Stories about Economics & Business from February, 2007
Spanish Language: Pornoesfera
Juan Luis of Tecnorantes is intrigued [ES] by Pornoesfera [ES], an informative, Spanish-language blog about the online industry or google's most-sought-after word.
Ecuador: Bond Default?
On the question of bond defaulting, ODI writes that “Rafael Correa, Ecuador’s new president, has been playing a game of chicken with the international capital markets.”
Kazakhstan: Environmental Buyout
Ben Paarmann says that ChevronTexaco has long had problems with accumulating sulfur deposits at its Tengiz oil field in Kazakhstan. So why is the government suddenly threatening to punish the company for environmental damage? Ben suggests that Kazakhstan's government may be trying to get more control over the project.
Romania: Claudia Schiffer Banned
In Romania, “celebrities have been barred from advertising children's food” – which makes Claudia Schiffer illegal, reports Blog Bucharest.
Africa, China: The Role of Local Governance
Sanaga Peregrinations disagrees (Fr) with commentators who believe Africa is going towards a recolonization by China, suggesting that the point is not to worry about the consequences of Chinese investments but rather to bring local leaders to better manage all foreign investments. She quotes and endorses Ugandan journalist Andrew Mwenda:...
Nigeria: Internet Exchange, Making Money, Abuja, Political Endorsement, And the Niger Delta
We begin this week's blog round-up with Timbaland‘s entry about Nigeria Internet Exchange. It so happens that I desire to create an Internet utopia in Nigeria. I have a dream of providing Internet access to every Nigerian citizen. This became stronger when I was having a discussion with a friend...
Hong Kong: Cyber dream
Sun bin visited Hong Kong's “Cyber port” and here is his conclusion: People were saying that HK's “cyberport” is a real estate development. I now want to put it in more specific terms, “purely residential development”. i.e. no business, no cyber, not even some decent shops or restaurants, or hotel,...
Russia: Sakhalin Photos and Interview
Tim Newman of White Sun of the Desert posts photos of winter in South Sakhalin – and gets interviewed by Siberian Light.
Russia: Ivan Ushkov's Case
Ivan Ushkov, a St. Petersburg artist, had his computer and some of his work confiscated by the police; officers threatened to shut down his photo business located on Nevsky Prospekt. Both the Russian blogosphere and the media are abuzz about this ongoing controversy. Ushkov's work can be viewed here; English...
Ukraine: Fashion
Olechko makes this observation on the way Ukrainian women dress: “Kyiv fashion may either scare to death or wildly inspire newcomers.”
Ukraine: Corruption (Cont'd)
A week ago, there were about 200 comments on Yuri Zushchik's post on corruption at the National Bank of Ukraine (including an irrelevant but lively discussion of IKEA – which is yet to open in Kyiv, by the way). Today, there are 320 comments, and the following exchange (RUS, UKR)...
Nepal: This thing called inflation
Nepal gets a new headache called inflation says United We Blog!. “While former autocrat Gyanendra and Maoist Guerilla are stealing all the attention for all bad reasons, here comes yet another bad news for Nepal. The central bank says inflation stood at seven percent in the first six months of...
Kyrgyzstan: Turning Around the Economy
The new Kyrgyz government must turn around the economy says Kyrgyz Report. They ask whether or not Prime Minister Isabekov can pull off the task.
Africa: China in Africa
Afroshangai Blog posts an article about Chinese interest in Africa, “China, unlike just about every other country in the world, has a clear African strategy which is being implemented with military precision. President Hu Jintao’s visit is the third by a senior Chinese leader in twelve months…”
Japan: portrait rights debate
Neomarxisms blogs about the rhetorics of the Japanese Association of Music Enterprises in defending the portrait rights of people they own: Scientifically speaking, we know that photography steals the subject's soul. Let's leave the soul stealing to the management companies, OK?
China: 65k for a baby
Jacky translated a video script of a woman from Shanghai who said that she would be a surrogate mother for US65k in order to study abroad. According to the comment, the average market price is USD$6.5k to 13k.
Landing at the Iraqi Blogodrome
Let me clear it up for any moron with lingering doubts: It’s worse. It’s over. You lost. You lost the day your tanks rolled into Baghdad to the cheers of your imported, American-trained monkeys. You lost every single family whose home your soldiers violated. You lost every sane, red-blooded Iraqi...
Slovenia: Brown Bears
The Glory of Carniola discusses the “unexplored economic potential” of Slovenia's decision to cull its brown bear population.
Hungary: News Roundup
Pestcentric covers the following topics in the most recent posts: the complexities of the Hungarian language; Hungary's “Turkeygate” scandal; Hungarian pseudo-terrorists posting videos on YouTube – here and here; construction of Central Europe's biggest shopping center in Budapest.
India: On Corporate Political Responsibility
The Indian Economy Blog on corporate political responsibility. “But where are the think-tanks, the public policy schools, the social science research endowments and sponsored professorships? To its credit, corporate India has foundations working on setting up village schools or improving rural infrastructure. While these are commendable, they are no substitutes...
Kenya: the battle for Africa Online
Bankele writes about the battle for Africa Online, “Telkom (South Africa) looks to emerge the winner in the battle for Africa Online after the African Lakes board (parent company) have accepted Telkom (SA)’s bid of £9.72 million (£25 per share) beating out Africa Telecoms Company (ATC) [which comprised Wananchi Online,...
