Stories about Ideas from November, 2008
Cuba: Love and Marriage
“With the love nest located in the parents’ house and with a salary that’s not enough to buy any durable or transferable goods, the signed paper and legal stamp that attest to the marriage are of little importance”: Generation Y says that Cubans are experiencing “a loss of the sense...
Trinidad & Tobago: Godliness?
This Beach Called Life suggests that the members of Trinidad and Tobago's government are “Gods of The Good Times”: “The bad and hard times fall squarely on the lap of the real God and the opposition.”
Religious unity: The Charter for Compassion
As children we may all have heard the Golden Rule expressed in many different ways, but the basic idea is: Treat others as you would like to be treated. This is Karen Armstrong's TED wish, to create The Charter for Compassion, a platform in which the different Abrahamic faiths could focus on what was common to all, the moral backbone of all their faiths towards a greater unity and better communication among people of different faiths.
Hong Kong: Protect University Beacon
The Chinese University of Hong Kong is planning to remove the beacon (a symbol of freedom of speech and intellectual exchange) temporarily to build an underground information center. However, there is no public consultation in the campus. At inmediahk.net (zh) eg9515 wrote a citizen report about the confrontation between the...
Rain in the Middle East
It's raining in the Middle East and bloggers are taking to their keyboards to register their thoughts about the change in climate. Here's review of what some bloggers in Saudi Arabia, Libya, Kuwait, the UAE and Israel had to say about the rain.
Guyana: Snake Tales
A discarded snake skin reminds Guyana-Gyal of two stories that she learned through oral tradition, causing her to lament: “Instead of adding we stories to the grand history of man, to help illustrate the story of man, we the people is shedding we tales, leaving them to decay while we...
Japan: Asia 21 Tokyo Summit
From the 14th to the 16th of November the Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit was held in Tokyo, with 160 young leaders debating this year's topic of “Challenges Across Borders, Solutions Beyond Cultures”, focusing on ways to “make the culture relevant in our changing world”. The diary of the 3-day-conference,...
Bermuda: No Obama
As the Premier suggests “that white Bermudians would not have voted for Barack Obama”, Vexed Bermoothes and 21 Square counter that argument by saying: “The question to ask is whether whites vote along the lines of race or the lines for or against the ideals Obama stands for. Ideals the...
Guyana: On Being Authentic
“I spent the first 19 years of my life in Guyana. I have now lived away from Guyana for a longer time than I lived there. Does that make me an inauthentic Guyanese?”: Signifying Guyana responds to an argument that writers “who eventually opt to live and work abroad, cannot…lay...
Iran: No Country for Old Trees
About one year ago Iranian authorities ordered security forces to rid the country of ‘western influences’ and ‘immodesty’. Fortunately they soon backed off again. But this time green bloggers in Iran and an Iranian daily newspaper, Etemaad, have reported on their new victims: old trees
Barcamp Saigon 2008
David attends the 2008 Barcamp Saigon. It was his first time to participate in a Barcamp.
Indonesia: Pesta Blogger 2008
Five bloggers from different countries have joined Indonesia's Pesta Blogger 2008, a blogging trip and festival.
Bangladesh: First Heritage Lodge
Mikey Leung at JoyBangla.info reviews the first heritage accommodation property in Bangladesh.
Bermuda: Identify Yourself
More on the Bermudian Expat ID card issue here and here.
Egypt for Sale
Word is out that every Egyptian citizen who is over 21 years old will own a part of Egypt's public sector companies and factories. The announcement has been the core topic of talk shows and has made its way to the blogosphere.
Bahamas: Censorship
Simon at Bahama Pundit blogs about “the sensitive issue of censorship.”
Bermuda: Identifying Expats
FreshieBlog, Bermuda Longtail and Breezeblog all comment on the government's intention to issue ID cards to expats “so that immigration can track down illegal immigrants.”
Jamaica: Schoolboy Murdered
A Jamaican schoolboy is sodomized and murdered, prompting Carlos King at Abeng News Magazine to write an open letter to the Prime Minister and Long Bench to address the issue of “the sexism and deep-seated and destructive hatred of homosexuality that pervades this society” with “people pandering to the notion...
Japan: 2008 Neologisms and Trendy Words
Presenting this year's 60 neologisms and trendy words [jp], among which only one will be elected representative for 2008, Kôgetsu describes briefly[jp] the events that influenced the choice and Japanese public opinion on the topic this year. His “best three” words are: subprime, tainted rise (事故米) and “Ponyo Ponyo, sakana...
Japan: Japanese Language in the Age of English
The Fall of the Japanese Language in the Age of English, the latest book by Japanese novelist and essayist Minae Mizumura, roused debate among many Japanese bloggers recently over the fate of their national language. Some wondered whether their country would one day adopt English as the mother tongue, and what that would mean for their national identity.
Brunei: 9th happiest country in the world
Jewelle reacts to a news report naming Brunei as the 9th happiest country in the world.
