Stories from Quick Reads from June, 2006
La Reunion: Subsidies to Local Associations
Eric Fruteau, a member of the General Council of St-Andre, a town in La Reunion, complains (Fr) about the lack of transparency and accountability in the subsidies budget distributed by...
The Wikipedia and Español
Puerto Rican blogger Eugenio Martínez Rodríguez contemplates (ES) the potential influence of the Wikipedia on the Spanish language.
Jamaica: Land of unfettered breasts?
Francis Wade examines the feelings invoked by the sight of bra-less women in Jamaica and tries to figure out the rationale behind the eschweing of foundation garments.
Africa: World Cup Report Card
Says Senegalese blogger Seckasysteme (Fr): “African football is not up to par and its presence in the World Cup is mostly symbolic. Too bad that the numerous individual African talents...
Jamaica: Going home
Jamaican Francis Wade addresses the “remarkable inner journey” one embarks upon on returning to one's homeland, and discusses some of the tools that have helped him along the way.
Antigua: New literary festival
Simone Champagnie announces the inaugural Caribbean Literary Festival, set to take place in Antigua in November 2006.
Aruba: Rumblings about indepdence
“Unless there is a drastic, drastic change in Aruba's economy and politics, we are simply not ready to go about it our own,” writes ArubaGirl, in a post prompted by...
Brazil: Caetano Veloso's Biography
France-based Togolese bloggerKangni Alem writes (Fr): “Even though modesty is not Brazilian singer Caetano Veloso's forte, he has great talent as an agitator. He also exhibits phenomenal memory in the...
Russia: Cheburashka Existed For Real
Konstantin Dlutskiy of Russian Marketing Blog writes about the cartoon character Cheburashka, its creator Eduard Uspenskiy and a new finding that claims that Cheburashka “actually did exist in reality.”
Russia: Article on Chechnya
Sean Guillory discusses (and recommends) an article by Anne Neistat, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, on her recent trip to Chechnya's capital Grozny.
Russia: Family Histories
Brigid of Laughter in the Dark post a moving story about sharing family histories with Katia, an archive employee in Smolensk.
Poland: Communism Vs Capitalism
An angry comment forces the beatroot to continue an endless debate on whether life was better during communism.
Belarus: Chavez to Visit Minsk in July
Hugo Chavez plans to visit Belarus at the end of July, reports TOL's Belarus Blog: “Finally, the two outspoken haters of U.S. will meet. I am sure they have a...
India: Guru Dutt and 1957
DoZ catches Pyaasa, a movie made in 1957 and wonders, “There is no three-point program to improve the sum total of the hero’s happiness in fifty-five minutes. When you make...
India: Women and their Period
Nikita has a post on the perceived impurity of women during their menstrual cycle. No access to places of worship, treated as an untouchable and more.
Bangladesh: Kawran Bazar
Dhaka Diary on the corners in Dhaka. “Kawran Bazar, plays out to an audience of many, movement is rapid, shift and purposeful. It is a hub of action and activity,...
Sri Lanka: Public service media
Voices of Reconciliation on the public appeal for Public Service Media in Sri Lanka. “As Sri Lankan citizens groups have been campaigning for public service media, we now call on...
Nepal: Politics and Alliances
Nepali Netbook comments on the changing face of alignments and alliances post the upheaval in April. “A passionate realignment of politics seems to be underway. To be sure, the precise...
Armenia: Interesting Politics
Onnik Krikorian reports on interesting political developments in Armenia as the 2007 parliamentary election approaches.
Kazakhstan: Tenge Inflation
Ben Paarmann reports on the inflation of Kazakhstan's tenge against the dollar and the government's efforts to try to keep the inflation in check.
Georgia: Tbilisi Driving
Hans reports on the dangers of driving in Tbilisi.
