Stories about Ideas from April, 2009
Cayman Islands: Same Old
“This election has the potential to again be nothing more than ousting current politicians who do very little and replacing them with politicians who are entirely incapable of bringing their generalizations to life”: The Cayman Islands’ Blog Man is afraid it's politics as usual for his country's upcoming elections.
China: The Beijing Consensus
Few are calling China's overseas investment strategy a Consensus comparable to the Washinton/IMF model, so how then best to describe it? Tom Orlik at China Translated explores a few alternate understandings.
China: Mash-ups in history
With ‘Socialism with Chinese Characteristics’ as one of the more prominent examples, Jeff Wasserstrom at The China Beat delineates mash-up culture in China, and don't miss out on the Confucian Blues.
Cuba: Path to the Future
“This little accessory hanging from the hip could well come to be all the newspapers we lack at the kiosks”: Cuba's Generation Y has faith in the potential of SMS to be a reliable source of information.
Jamaica: Mad Tax
Abeng News Magazine‘s Michael Spence says: “The new gas tax added in the latest Jamaican national budget is bad but when you tax reading material…this has to come from a government that has gone mad and is intent on helping the poor to get poorer.”
Guyana: e-Waste
“The mo’ they fall, the mo’ they break, the mo’ they break, the mo’ you buy. Slick, smart cell-phone makers and sellers”: Guyana-Gyal considers where all the e-waste goes.
Egypt: Plans for Sexual Harassment Film Unveiled
After the success of Egypt's Anti-Harassment Day, Egyptian blogger Asser Yasser invited women to share their personal experiences with this issue. Women and young women will be filmed going about their everyday lives, registering the different forms of harassment they are subjected to. Marwa Rakha has the story.
Egypt: Stigmatized by AIDS
A group of Egyptian bloggers and independent media personalities are putting their hands together in support of the “Openness” initiative, which aims at anti-stigmatizing AIDS patients, and calls for integrating them in the society instead of alienating them further by educating people on how to deal with them to avoid getting infected, reports Marwa Rakha.
Egypt: Wandering Internet Trolls
Wandering Scarab posted an interesting note on the four types of Internet trolls: “creatures that wander into forums and blogs, with malicious intent to generally interrupt online discussions by flinging their excrement everywhere, and inciting others into responding emotionally.”
Cuba: Right to Travel
“Hasn’t it been said already—by enough voices—that the requirement for permission to leave and enter Cuba has to be repealed?”: Generation Y wants to know “What more has to happen to stop them from hijacking this right from us?”
Bermuda, Turks & Caicos: Better Representation
Vexed Bermoothes is disappointed in his Premier's performance at the recently concluded Fifth Summit of the Americas: “I wish he had stuck to working for Bermudians’ benefit rather than playing cheerleader for the discredited TCI administration.”
St. Lucia: Ideas on the Strike
As members of the civil service take strike action in St. Lucia, Sun Rain Or… says: “It would be a welcome change is if St. Lucians found the time and impetus not to go back to inaction in between this and the next crisis.”
China: Tracking swine flu on Twitter
Swine flu for China so far is a chance to reflect [zh] on how SARS was prevented from becoming a pandemic, and the steps being taken now in Mexico and elsewhere. Wang Jiadong has a post [zh] looking at how social media have been used to track the spread of...
Cuba: Strike of the Period?
Cuba's ration market for feminine hygiene products is not always reliable, prompting Generation Y to envision “a ‘Strike of the Period,’ a massive protest marked by the ovulation cycle.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Re-engineering
“In Trinidad and Tobago engineers and scientist are not encouraged to build and innovate”: This Beach Called Life explains.
Jamaica: Gas Tax
“I've come to the conclusion that there is some irrational link between the price of gas in Jamaica and public tolerance levels”: Annie Paul thinks that the imposition of the gas tax is “long overdue”.
Guyana: Taking Root
‘If you can have a tree growing in you, what kind of tree you would want?” Guyana-Gyal poses an interesting question.
India: Why Recycle When You Can Precycle?
India Climate Solution blog presents a new idea: “They have coined a word ‘Precycle’ to promote simple lifestyle based on refusal to buy any time that you can do without. Why buy a packaged grocery and then throw away the packaging material while you could perhaps go in for unpacked...
Korea: Things that might surprise you in North America
A netizen shows an interesting post about 22 things that surprise you while you travel America. It is fun to see how things are natural in a place could be observed as interesting by others. 1. 하이웨이 차선 위 사진의 차선의 힌선과 흰선이 연결되는 중간을 자세히 보시면(빨강...
Puerto Rico: Indigenous Summit
The Voice of the Taino People Online says that a delegation of Caribbean Indigenous Peoples is speaking out on climate change at the Indigenous Peoples Global Summit.
Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago: Summit Summary
GuyToons, a Guyanese cartoon blog, posts a series of funnies on the recently-concluded Summit of the Americas, while Trinbago Forever waits to see what benefits will be derived from the Summit and Mauvais Langue adds: “Instead of wasteful spending, use the money wisely and spend it to fight crime.”
