Stories about Ideas from October, 2007
Egypt: Additive and Subtractive Thinking
Additive and subtractive thinking is the topic of today's translation from Arabic by Tarek Amr. Do we pick and choose the values we like from ideologies or do we simply 'subtract' them from our consciousness because there are aspects in them we don't agree with?
Lebanon: We are sinking
“It’s like the ship is sinking, and everyone is trying to get off. Is the ship really sinking? I don’t know. When do you realize – while on a sinking ship – that the thing is sinking? When people are abandoning ship? In that case; we're sinking!” writes Sietske in...
Pop!Tech Goes International and Multilingual
This year's annual Pop!Tech conference will once again attract 500 notable thinkers from the worlds of science, design, and business. It will also include a cadre of polyglot bloggers eager to spread the intimate conference conversations with the wider blogosphere in Portuguese, Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, Farsi, and Swahili.
Lebanon: Headed on a Spiralling Path
It has been relatively clear that Lebanon is headed on a spiralling path – back to revisit its own tragic past. The new generation destined to repeat the tragedies of their fathers and forefathers albeit with a new twist or two… posts R on Voices on the Wind from Lebanon.
Lebanon: Dark Days Ahead of Presidential Elections
Only dark days are coming to this forsaken nation when the presidential elections arrive, unless we have a strange “divine” miracle to get both camps reconcile for the future of the people who will suffer from another potential civil war, notes MFL from Lebanon.
China: Fragile Morality
A young man fought for justice alone but received a buffet, other 60 passengers ignoring the tragedy; after Pengyu case, no people dare to help an old man, leaving him lying alone on the ground. What is wrong with our modern society? Have people to be apathetic to survive? Report on two moral-related cases leads you into discussions of our fragile morality.
Japan: Sports with “no future”
Why do people play sports? Is it out of a love for the game, just for a good time, or is it actually a career choice like any other? 21-year-old Japanese pro-golfer Ueda Momoko sparked a heated debate earlier this week after she remarked that she could not understand young people who play sports which, according to her, have "no future".
Uganda: Of Cons, Cars And Losing a Job Because Of a Blog
This week, Ugandan Insomniac poses an always pressing question that sets the tone for much discourse, "Why are millions of Ugandans still living in abject poverty when an increasing number of people in the country can afford a brand new set of wheels and personalized number plates every year?"
Iraq: Holiday at Home
Iraqi blogger HNK explains why she will spend her holiday at home – giving us a break down of her daily activities and interests.
Laos: Word of Mouth News
Lao Voices has a post on how the news travels by word of mouth in Laos and how most often such information is not reliable.
Egypt: A Visit to an Elderly House
Ramadan is the month of “good”. That’s how Muslims regard it worldwide. So don’t get amazed if you found various forms for “good deeds” performed amongst middle age youth here or there, writes Eman, who translates a post by an Egyptian doctor who pays a visit to an elderly house.
Jordan: Advice to Facebookers
Jordanian blogger Hareega dishes out advice to his country's Facebooker's in this post.
Barbados: “Oedipal complainers”?
Barbados Free Press comments on an op-ed piece written by Barbados's commissioner for Pan-African affairs, who suggests that Barbadians are “Oedipal complainers”.
Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago: Naming places
Trinidadians seem comfortable naming places after living heroes, says Moving Back to Jamaica, but Jamaicans seem to prefer their heroes safely dead — why?
Jordan: Wasta Sex
I’ve been wondering lately which sex in Jordan uses wasta (nepotism) more. Females or males? And I’m talking about the instigators and not just the pawns, writes Naseem Al Tarawnah from Jordan.
Language death: evolution, natural selection or cultural genocide?
We live in a world of just 194 countries, give or take, but speak between 7,000 and 8,000 languages. That linguistic diversity is fast disappearing, often thanks to the privileged position given to colonial languages, as well as the globalization of media and technology. But is this really cause for alarm?
Cayman Islands, Jamaica: Citizen of the air?
News of a Jamaican woman who gave birth on a Cayman Airways flight prompts The Mad Bull to wonder: what country will the baby be a citizen of?
Palestine: Islam and Spirituality
Palestinian blog Oranges and Olives discusses Islam, spirituality and civilisation in this post – after coming across songs by British Muslim singer Sami Yousef.
