Stories about Ideas from October, 2008
Guyana: Social Services
“Increasing access to social services is among the priorities identified by indigenous women leaders in the region as key to empowerment”: The Voice of the Taino People Online reports on the Conference on Indigenous Women in the Caribbean, being held in Guyana.
Barbados, U.S.A.: Behind Barack
Barbados Underground says that most Caribbean people support Barack Obama for U.S. President.
Egyptian Evil Empires
Not Green Data, from Egypt, compiles a s list of the five Egyptian evil empires. They are: the ruling National Democratic Party, Al Ahly Sporting Club, Microbus drivers, Al Ahram Newspaper and Egyptian tycoons.
Japan: Meeting Tatsuhiko Takimoto
id:y_arim describes [ja] meeting Japanese author Tatsuhiko Takimoto, known for his fictional work about hikikomori entitled Welcome to the N.H.K, at a bar in Akihabara. When they met, Takimoto declared that he had just recently discovered his “true self” — the person he was when he was in elementary school,...
Jordan: Rumours, Gap Year Foreign Students, and Body of Lies
From an innocent murmur to a devastating consequence on the life of an innocent girl, see how rumours can destroy lives in Jordan in this round up of Jordanian blogs by Mohammad Azraq, which also discusses foreign gap year students in Amman and the latest big screen hit Body of Lies.
Saudi Arabia: Creating a modern mix
Saudi blogger Hala wonders about Canadian activist Irshad Manji, who is lesbian, feminist, and Muslim: “Some choose to create a modern mix of their original values and their new ones, thus reaching a comfort zone that can enable them to access both societies with agreeable levels, but how far can...
Egypt: Blogosphere's Godparents Going South
Manalaa (i.e. Manal and Alaa) the godparents of the Egyptian blogosphere - are going to live in South Africa for a while, and Alaa has written a post [Ar] describing his feelings towards traveling and many other things.
Jamaica: Inaccurate Ranking?
My View of JamDown from Up So writes an open letter to Reporters Without Borders, saying he was “disturbed at the high (press freedom) rank of Jamaica in comparison what most people here acknowledge to be reality.”
Cuba: Categorizing
Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez refuses to be labeled.
Bermuda: Speech, Boy!
The Premier of Bermuda makes a speech that leaves Vexed Bermoothes and Catch a fire feeling a bit disconcerted.
Trinidad & Tobago, U.S.A.: Artistic Obama
“I observed the poster designed by Obay, Shepard Fairley about a year ago…but I did not make that much of it. I assumed that it was just a few illustrators optioned to do some work for the candidate. Little did I know that Obama was becoming an inspiration…”: From Trinidad...
Jordan: The Fall and Rise of Rainbow Street
Jordanian Roba Al Assi overheard this conversation at her office – about the rise and fall of Rainbow Street.
Palestine: Why are Palestinians Destined to be Occupied?
Palestinian Iman remarks: “Reading Zait o Za3tar’s comment kinda makes me wonder why some (i.e., Palestinians) were destined to be occupied, oppressed, humiliated …”
Trinidad & Tobago: Higher Standards
“When a few stupid women lower their standards, we all suffer…It’s time we learn from our animal friends and reclaim the power nature entrusted to us. Like the Alpha female wolf, we have to start to give sexual consent to only to the Alpha Male and snarl and bite when...
Bermuda: Local Sport
Blogging from Bermuda, Vexed Bermoothes says that when it comes to developing sport and upgrading athletic facilities, the key is to “think local”.
Jamaica: “Old Boy”
Jamaican Geoffrey Philp is brimming with pride over his alma mater.
Japan: Outlawing Illegal Downloads
id:seshiapple picks up [ja] comments from a thread on Japanese bulletin board 2-Channel in which IT journalist Daisuke Tsuda asks 2-channelers: “The outlawing of [illegal] downloads is almost finalized, do you have any questions?” As reported in an IT media article [ja] from Oct. 20th, Tsuda was the only member...
Japan: Insiders foretell Yamato Life's bankruptcy on 2-Channel
The effects of the American subprime loan crisis have arrived in Japan, and the first company fall victim to the outfall is Yamato Life Insurance Co. The Japanese mid-size insurer filed for bankruptcy on the 10th of October and applied to the Tokyo District Court for bankruptcy protection. Many bloggers, however, have been writing about a different angle to the story: at a thread on 2-Channel, Japan's largest bulletin board, insiders apparently reported the bankruptcy before it actually happened.
Environment: Meetup of Green Bloggers in Capetown South Africa
On October 11th 2008, Global Voices Environment, Carbon Smart and Urban Sprout organized a meetup for environment bloggers in Capetown South Africa. What follows is a rundown of what was discussed. Blogging about the environment is a multi-faceted endeavor, because it is such a broad topic. This was reflected in...
Kuwait: Is Conform a Bad Word?
Kuwaiti Herolike asks: “When did conform become such a bard word?” “Today in class the majority seemed to agree that anonymous publications are perfectly okay, which is the romantic, idealistic thing to say, let’s agree, but somehow I was the only one mentioning the possibility of it being exploited (case...
Japan: Why are American researchers so productive?
Japanese researcher id:kaz_ataka at Being between Neuroscience and Marketing describes his surprise at the productivity of science researchers in the U.S., those at the blogger's lab in the U.S. producing 5-6 papers per year. Unlike Japanese researchers, who kaz_ataka explains stay up until the early hours in the morning working...
