· July, 2009

Stories from Quick Reads from July, 2009

Japan: DPJ's election manifesto

  29 July 2009

Tobias Harris from observing Japan comments on Democratic party's 2009 general election manifesto. The manifesto covers five major areas: (1) cutting waste (essentially political and administrative reform); (2) child care and education; (3) pensions and health care; (4) regionalization; and (5) employment and the economy.Part I and Part II.

Bangladesh: Adulteration And Death Of Children

  29 July 2009

Unheard Voice comments on the death of a number of children in Bangladesh due to Diethylene glycol (DEG) poisoning after intake of a fever drug and the inaction of the authorities: “Our governments, under media pressure and public outcry, successively have bothered to resort to short term damage control and...

Bermuda, Haiti: Standing Up

  29 July 2009

“In the 1980s Bermudians participated in the global anti-Apartheid anti-imperialist movement”: Catch a fire thinks “it is time that our new generation continue this tradition and pick up the mantle of fighting injustices” such the ones in Haiti.

Bermuda, U.K.: Missed Celebrations

  29 July 2009

Repeating Islands reports that Britain's Queen Elizabeth II “skipped yesterday’s celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the settlement of Britain’s oldest colony after a row with the island’s pro-independence leader”, adding that the island's Premier was also noticeably absent.

Haiti: What Happened to Pierre-Antoine?

  29 July 2009

“July 28 marks the 94th anniversary of the US occupation of Haiti…August 12th will mark the second anniversary of the disappearance of Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine”: The Haitian Blogger wonders what has happened to this leading human rights activist.

Trinidad & Tobago: Thoughts on Alleged Plot

  29 July 2009

Of the alleged plot to assassinate the Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister, This Beach Called Life says: “Strangely, no one has been arrested even though the Papa claims he knows which group likes him the least.”

Japan: Yokohama Mayor Resigns

  29 July 2009

Shisaku on Yokohama Mayor Nakada Hiroshi's resignation: “When an electoral shoo-in like Nakada takes a leap like this into the unknown, it is just one more indication that postwar system is on the verge of final, precipitous collapse”.

Russia: “Russian Software” Project

Profy writes about the Russian Software project, whose “idea is to provide high-quality alternatives to proprietary international software titles and to make sure that these alternatives will also be much less expensive than the Western products.”

Bangladesh: A Concrete Island

  28 July 2009

When it rains it pours in Bangladesh. Sabih Uddin Omar woke up today and found himself in a concrete island: “It's water! Water everywhere! Water clogging the streets, water in the gardens, water in the backyard.”

Trinidad & Tobago: Mother Earth

  28 July 2009

“It’s not how many tractors you have or how much oil you drill or how many smelters you build. But the humanity and the humility of what you do with your knowledge and your resources”: Trinidadian blogger Attillah Springer fears that we will pay for the “gross and sloppy mishandling...

Trinidad & Tobago: Assassination Attempt?

  28 July 2009

The Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister has revealed an alleged plot to assassinate him a few years ago, prompting diaspora blogger Jumbie's Watch to call the claim “a serious piece of dotishness.”

Bhutan: Expensive Chilies

  28 July 2009

Penstar is irked by the skyrocketed price of chilies in Bhutan. The blogger puns: “What is so special about that? The answer is so simple because they are coated with gold!”