Stories from Quick Reads from March, 2012
China: Sandstorms and Nuclear Tests
Henryk Szadziewski from Uyghurnomics blogs about the effect of 46 nuclear tests in East Turkestan, the homeland of millions of Uyghurs between 1964-1996 on people and environment.
DR of Congo: Health Challenges in Goma Due to Clean Water Shortage
Passy Mubalama reports [fr] that the Town of Goma in North Kivu, DRC is facing multiple challenges due to shortage of clean water. She explains that water provision has been a problem since the eruption of the Nyiragongo volcano in 2002 that destroyed the pipe that conducted clean water to Goma.
Senegal: Wade Warned New President Sall of Shortage in Public Funds
M. Ndiaye reports [fr] that Wade warned newly elected president Macky Sall that the State will not be able to pay public servant salaries if he is not re-elected. Furthermore, P. Faye adds that Wade also stated before election Day that infrastructure construction in the city of Matam and Podor will stop...
Blogger Analysis on North Korea's Expected Rocket Trajectory
North Korea Tech blog wrote about North Korea's rocket launch which is scheduled for next month. The blogger, after analyzing the International Maritime Organization's documents, predicted that the rocket will drop to earth in two stages off the western coast of South Korea and to the east of Luzon Island in the Philippines.
Dominican Republic: Take A Stand for Women
Feminist blogger and journalist María Isabel Soldevila urges people to take a stand and act against women's subordination [es] in the Dominican Republic.
Pakistan: Karachi launches campaign against TTP
Zia Ur Rehman reports that an awareness campaign against the horrible atrocities by the religious group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has begun in Karachi. An NGO named Anjuman-e-Muhibban Pakistan (Organisation of Lovers of Pakistan) launched the campaign.
Cambodia: Bokator, Angkorian Martial Art
Bokator or Labokator (to fight like a lion) is a Cambodian martial art that is believed to be the predecessor of Southeast Asian kickboxing styles. Historians believe that it was the close quarter combat system used by the ancient armies of Angkor.
Southeast Asia Digital Library
The Southeast Asia Digital Library provides educators and students with materials published in Southeast Asia. The online library contains digital facsimiles of books and manuscripts, as well as multimedia materials and searchable indexes of additional Southeast Asian resources.
Cambodia’ Bamboo Trains
Edgar Alan Zeta-Yap writes about the bamboo trains or “norry” of Battambang in Cambodia.
Southeast Asia's Golden Triangle: From Opium to Casinos
Tan Kai Swee presents a video on EngageMedia about the opening of new casinos in Southeast Asia's infamous Golden Triangle in Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos which used to be the center of opium production in the region.
Pakistan: Using Social Networking Sites To Incite Violence
Tufail Ahmad at Pak Tea House posts an investigative story on how Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is inciting violence against Shi'ite Muslims and spreading antisemitism using Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and other Internet tools.
India: How Many Lives More To Ignite A Movement?
Rita Banerji makes a strong case of negligence of the civil society of India in addressing the violence against the girl child and the obsession with male progeny and masculine lineage.
Puerto Rico: “My Favorite Bars”
The music blog Mala Vida Buena Música [es] (Bad Life, Good Music) explains why La Respuesta in Santurce, a neighborhood in the capital city of San Juan, is one of their favorite bars in the island.
Cuba: “Incubation”
The digital magazine 80 Grados presents the video of photographer Guillaume Le Berre's voyage to Cuba titled “Incubation”: “At the beginning there was a trip. I wanted to see Cuba before the country changes, and tell this experience with pictures. I left only 15 days. But I’m the one who has been changed.”
Saudi Arabia: Qatif Protest to Demand “Rights”
Revolution2East posts on YouTube this video from a protest in Qatif, Saudi Arabia, in which protesters, who include women, chant that they will not give up on demanding their rights.
Belarus: “15+2=17″ – Bloggers React to Executions of Kanavalau and Kavalyou
At TOL's East of Center, Jeremy Druker and Anna Shamanska review and translate some of the reactions from the Belarusian blogosphere to last week's executions of the two young men convicted for the 2011 Minsk subway bombing: “Many Belarussian users on [… Vkontakte …] used pictures of Kavalyou and Kanavalau...
Colombia: Eduardo Montealegre Appointed as New Chief Prosecutor
Blogs [es] and social networks [es] report [es] and comment [es] on the appointment of the lawyer and Uribe supporter Eduardo Montealegre [es] as new Chief Prosecutor, in replacement of Viviane Morales. Montealegre said he intends to pass a statutory law to permit the extension of the protection of human...
Spain: Planning Actions for May 2012
The blog Toma la Plaza announces meetings and assemblies tomorrow March 24 in various cities in Spain to coordinate their participation in the global actions planned for next May.
Puerto Rico: Happy Birthday
The feminist blog Mujeres en Puerto Rico is celebrating [es] its third anniversary: “This year will bring important moments for this country's women. If life permits it, we will be here. With you.”
Spain: Documentary in Production on the Healing Power of Flamenco
Sin Ruido, or Noiseless in Spanish, is a documentary on Flamenco Dancer Inma Lobato and her work teaching and training people with mental problems. The film [es] will focus on the impact the lessons have on the well-being of the students in Spain, Slovenia, Bosnia Herzegovina.
Puerto Rico: New Podcast on Legal Issues
The blog Derecho al Derecho has launched a podcast to discuss legal issues. In the first episode [es], legal scholars Erika Fontánez Torres and Hiram Meléndez Juarbe talk about the “legitimacy of the judicial branch and the critique of judicial institutions.”