Stories about Ideas from April, 2006
China: Staring happens
Laowiseass‘ Lalaoshi blogs out the reasons why he gets stared at in some places and passed over in others: “I remember no one stared at me in Zhumadian, a Henan province city where foreigners do not go unless they're journalists trying to sneak into the Shangcai AIDS village nearby.”
Hong Kong: Benefits blogs bring
More meta-commentary from Roland at EastSouthWestNorth in ‘Why Blogs Are Better Than Mainstream Media‘.
Taiwan: English teaching essentials
Mark at Doubting to shuō blogs critically on what separates good ESL teachers in Taiwan from the bad. “Obviously,” he writes, “this is pretty subjective.”
Japan: Bush photo mocked
Blog of the Riding Sun‘s Gaijin Biker has a caption contest for a photo of American president George W. Bush pulling on the arm of Chinese president Hu Jintao's suit during Hu's talk at the White House last weekend. Some contenders: “Let go of my gorram jacket before I get...
China: Red but greening
In ‘Is China Going Green, Part VIII?‘, China Law Blog‘s Dan Harris relates a Wall Street Journal story on increasing environmental awareness in the rapidly-developing Asian country to his own experiences there: “We have found the same thing in our China work for foreign companies, particularly in the last few...
China: Intellectual property law
Kevin Fisher at chinablawger takes a legalistic look at the glamorous side of intellectual property law.
China: Photoblogs—translation not needed
In the write-at-your-own-risk world of blogging in China, there are no fine lines between what's acceptable, what will get you blocked and what will get you thrown in jail. Lists of words and topics appear from time to time, but nothing official has ever been released. It's tragic. What for...
China: America's oil foe
China Confidential‘s Confidential Reporter continues to make the case that China and the United States are locked in a race to the bottom of the world's oil barrel. “Like a player in a modern version of the Great Game—the classic contest between the British empire and Czarist Russia for mastery...
Japan: Creative manhunt methods
The An Englishman in Osaka blogger posts on the unique way Japanese police track down their most wanted.
DRC: Informal vs. Official World Order
UDPS Liege contrasts (FR) the official world order (UN and other international bodies) to the informal world order (multinational corporations and secret service agencies). According to the informal world order, the DRC is not a sovereign nation, continues the blogger.
Vietnam myths uncovered
Preya at Dreaming of Hanoi tackles some of the myths people have about Vietnam.
Haitian Blogger Yon Ayisyen: “I'm No Revolutionary Hero”
Yon Ayisien (whose name means “A Haitian”) blogs at Ayisyen Sa Nap Regle? (“What's Up Haitians? ” in Creole) and might as well be renamed HaitiPundit. He is the only Haiti-based Haitian blogger who blogs about politics and his blogging wit and vision is surprising for a 25 year-old. Though...
Taiwan: Regional aggregator coming
Prominent Taiwanese blogger Portnoy has started an English-language blog, Portnoy in Between. First up? Time to see a Chinese-language blog aggregator. “It is nothing about English hegemony;” he writes of Asia247 set to open June 4, “it is about how to communicate effectively, how to break the language divide, and...
Bloglogue: US Dollars & Democracy in Iran!
Bloglogue’s first issue was about Iran in Media and several bloggers & non bloggers from different countries took part in discussion. Second issue is about a very hot issue: US 75 million dollars help to promote democracy in Iran. Five bloggers including two Americans, one Finnish and two Iranians joined...
Iran: Cartooning the nucelar crisis
In Point of View blog, we can discover several cartoons created by Sakhvarz, an Iranian cartoonist & blogger, about the ongoing nuclear crisis.
Helping Russian Orphans
On March 19, a group of wonderful, kind people from Moscow took presents acquired on donations from ordinary Muscovites to an orphanage in Ivanovo, home to 122 children (o to 4 years old), most of whom have various disabilities. The effort – one of the many – was coordinated online...
Iran: Nuclear & Safety
Inja va Aknoun (means Here & Now) writes about nuclear technology & security related questions (Persian). He says nobody in Iran talks about the safety of people who live in the neighbourhood of nuclear enrichment buildings.
Mexico: Learning Freedom
Leon Felipe Sanchez introduces the new weblog, Aprender la Libertad (Learning Freedom) (ES), which he is co-authoring with Ariel Vercelli (ES). The blog continues themes from a book by Vercelli with the same name.
China: U.S. relations analyzed
The opening editorial for this week's issue of the Chinese-language, internet-based, international politics-analyzing Far & Wide Journal takes a quick look at the diplomatic buildup to Chinese president Hu Jintao's visit to the United States this week, past visits of Chinese leaders and Bush's visit last month to India. “Compared...
China: Race for oil
“[B]y 2020,” writes the China Confidential blogger-reporter, “the world's most populous nation will have to import 70 percent of its oil. Soaring demand for oil is certain to be accompanied by increased competition for secure oil supplies.” “China's biggest competitor for oil, of course, is the US,” the blogger adds.
Trinidad & Tobago: Lloyd Best
Visual artist Chris Cozier acknowledges the role played in his personal and intellectual development by Trinidadian thinker Lloyd Best.