Stories about Ideas from May, 2007
Peru: Dust into Gold
A entrepreneurial neighbor of blogger C.J. Schexnayder aka Kleph collects the refuse from the floors around jewelry stores in Miraflores, and puts it through a process to remove the gold...
Arabeyes: Breast-Feeding Dilemma
Imagine having to breast feed your colleague at work - five times - to ensure that your relationship remains professional! This is the fatwa (religious edict) that had Arab and Muslim bloggers buzzing with excitement and anger this week. Read the rest of the article to see how some of the region's bloggers reacted to the ruling, which has since been withdrawn.
Morocco: Muslims Making Headlines
“Muslims are making headlines yet again. The Pew Research Center has found that one in four American Muslims under the age of 30 think that suicide bombings can sometimes be...
Bahamas: Saving Nassau
Larry Smith at Bahama Pundit has a few ideas about how to go about improving downtown Nassau and quotes Pat Rahming to emphasize the point: “…The need for thought about...
D.R. of Congo: Should Christian Revivalist Churches Be Encouraging Political Activism?
Continuing an age-old debate--is religion the "opium of the people" or can it be a catalyst for social change?--Congolese blogger Blaise Mantoto at UDPS Liege says the Congo’s Christian revivalist churches, which he cynically refers to as "for-profit spiritual shops," encourage political disengagement. He argues these churches should inspire their followers to improve their social conditions through political activism, but not everyone agrees that religion and politics ought to be mixed.
Human Sacrifice & the Politics of Death
At Babilown, French-Beninian author Blaise Aplognan describes the religious and political function of human sacrifice (Fr) in ancient societies: “…its goal was to channel violence toward a (sacrificed) individual, toward...
China: Splitting hairs over stem cells
Stem cell research—it's an old topic, but it's also a top topic, at least for today as two key Chinese public intellectuals—one a tv news personality and the other a...
Barbados: Conversations about Culture
“…In countries that have no culture or are afraid they may have no culture, there is a Minister of Culture.” Jamaica Kincaid's essay on Antigua hits home for Barbadian blogger...
Trinidad & Tobago: Journalistic Responsibility
Attending a conference on Haiti gets Trinidadian blogger Jonathan Ali thinking about stereotyping and the role of the media.
Anguilla: Homosexuality and Constitutional Reform
“We cannot allow ourselves to get side tracked when it comes to our Constitution. We have to be ready with our arguments when the British team arrives in Anguilla in...
Singapore: Museum's Online Repository
Noelbynature feels that the launch of an online repository of the collections from museums in Singapore a “great step forward in making the material cultures featured in the museums more...
Indonesia: Water Privatization
The Indonesia Law Reporter takes the discussion from his newspaper article on water privatization online on his blog. “What I said on that article was that privatization carries legal risks,...
Japan: Marriage and “Casual Infidelity”
Shari at My So-Called Japanese Life has a thoughtful piece on the way in which Japanese people, as compared to Americans, view marriage. She writes: “It's always been my impression...
What is your blood type?
What is your blood type? That's a big deal in Korea. Why? Your personality can be inferred from your blood type at once. lyh809 is one of the most serious...
Israel: Household Appliances Trouble
Israeli blogger Yael is having trouble with her household appliances. “The only things that haven’t broken in any way that I got from that place is the microwave which hasn’t...
Bahrain: Censoring Flesh
Bahraini blogger emoodz jumped the gun and accused a daily paper of censoring ‘flesh’. He later amended his error when another blogger Cradle of Humanity pointed out that American anti-war...
Trinidad & Tobago: Political Scandals
“Trinidad and Tobago has to be the most exciting place on earth without a war”: Trinidad and Tobago girls, politics, sports, technology, carnival and lifestyle examines recent political scandals, adding...
Trinidad & Tobago: Environmental Policy
According to the Chairman of Trinidad and Tobago's Environmental Management Authority, Cedros, a village on the island's southwesterly coast, is sinking. Club Soda and Salt thinks “it’s likely to take...
Guyana: Digging into Living
Internet problems cause Guyana-Gyal to “dig into living good and proper.”
Barbados: Differentiating a Destination
Following a comment from a cruise line president that stated “one island is pretty much like another”, Barbados Free Press examines the large promotional spending the cruise lines are doing...
Qatar: Rising Cost of Living
Writing from Qatar Serendipity links to a news article about the rising cost of living in the Arabian Gulf state. “When it was just affecting expats, the companies didn't seem...
