Stories about Ideas from December, 2010
Guyana: Sun/Rain Love
Guyana-Gyal blogs beautifully about the relationship between sun and rain.
Japan: The Fear of the Internet
Last year W. David MARX at Neojaponisme wrote a thoughtful post on “Japanese internet aversion” [en], in which he proposed an interpretation of the Japanese attitude toward the Net that is still valid today. According to the blogger, the fear of the internet manifests itself as “user trepidation” and “corporate...
Jamaica: On the Internet
Grasshopper Eyes The Potomac asks some pressing questions about the Internet.
Serbia: Novelists Participate in “Blog Day” Project
On Dec. 8, one of the Serbian publishing houses launched an interesting project: called Blog Day, it represents a unique example of web activism in Serbia that will be taking place four times a year. The topic of the first Blog Day was Ecology, and over 20 Serbian novelists have posted their contributions.
Trinidad & Tobago: Property Tax
“At this point in time, the nation’s budget is running at a deficit for the third successive year and the Minister of Finance is tasked with developing new sources of revenue”: Afra Raymond thinks “it is time to return to the question of property tax.”
Jamaica, Haiti: Democracy & Elections
In looking at the fallout over the Haitian elections, Jamaican diaspora blogger Dennis Jones says: “The search for democracy is more than about having free and open elections. People have to have a certain disposition.”
Bermuda: The Black Male Perspective
Breezeblog directs “anyone concerned about where Bermuda is headed amidst the spiralling gang violence, social dysfunctionality and hypocrisy” to an article written “from the perspective of a young black man”.
Debate on the China Model
Last month the British Prime Minister David Cameron visited China. After he had delivered his speech at Peking University, a student asked him what he could learn from China. The episode has triggered a hot debate among bloggers and public intellectuals in China. So what exactly is the meaning of "China Model"?
Russia: Omsk Forum Users Publish Erotic Socio-Political Calendar
Users of forum.omsk.ru decided to continue [RUS] a popular format of erotic calendars dedicated to the hot political topics. This time the calendar is dedicated to local issues: traffic jams, high gas prices, environmental issues (scans of the calendar available here [RUS]).
Guyana: Notes on Caribbean Writers
The Signifyin’ Woman shares her notes from a panel discussion that she attended this past weekend on the “Challenges & Choices of Caribbean Writers”.
Japan: A Quiet Revolution by the NEET [Not in Education, Employment, or Training]
In a post titled "Revolution of the NEET (lol)", Sayuri Tamaki explores a new breed of NEET and how they are changing the country.
Lebanon: Blogging Lebanon Ends
“Overall, the event was successful and beneficial for most audience members. Many students have expressed their interest in starting their own blogs or improving their existing ones” – with this statement, Moudz ends the press release about American University of Beirut’s Online Collaborative's first “Blogging Lebanon” convention.
Japan: Cartoon Blog
The Tokyo Reporter just launched a new section called Cartoon Blog [en], in collaboration with cartoonist Roberto De Vido (also author of Politicomix [en]).
Iran: Bloggers discuss Wikileaks documents
The Wikleaks Cablegate documents exposed shady ties between Iran and Afghanistan; inside information about the Iranian regime and opposition; and fear in the Arab region of Iran's nuclear policy. Iranian bloggers reacted to these revelations, sometimes with irony, sometimes with conspiracy theories in mind, and sometimes seriously. Natour Shahr says...
Caribbean: Regional Reviews
The Caribbean Review of Books has some interesting reading this week.
Trinidad & Tobago: Drawing the Line
“Less than twenty four hours after our Commissioner of Police marked the proverbial line in the sand that this is where violent crime ends, someone killed someone else in almost the very same spot and the dead man's blood washed the Commissioner's line away”: Plain Talk says the only way...
Trinidad & Tobago: Homeless in T&T
FreePaper examines the issue of homelessness, saying: “If yuh lookin to go homeless, don't do it in Trinidad. Yuh gets no love.”