19 August 2005

Stories from 19 August 2005

Azerbaijan: On Melons

Carpetblogger wonders if rumors about nitrites injected into Azeri watermelons are true, or if they make any difference, giving the levels of environmental toxins to be found in the country...

19 August 2005

Western Sahara: Moroccan prisoners freed

Black Star Journal comments on the release of Moroccan prisoners taken during the conflict in Western Sahara, giving concise background on this little-known story of post-colonialism and occupation.

19 August 2005

Vietnam: Cottontimer

Cottontimer is a Chinese-American who keeps two blogs to occupy her hours as full-time mum in Vietnam – one on her daily life call Cotton Picking Days (read: MSG poisoning),...

19 August 2005

Counter-culture blog IndCoup touches on Asian values and feels that the Malaysian government is control-obsessed. One of the old tricks seeing new spin is the “pernicious influence of corrupt Western...

19 August 2005

Thailand: English tests

“On an average score of English tests out of nine ASEAN countries, our Thai counterparts came in eighth – just one above the Cambodians”. TV shows don't help much…

19 August 2005

The e-community for Thai translators has a website at www.wanakam.com (wanakam means literature). It has an excellent link to the collection of Thai literature that had been translated to English,...

19 August 2005

China: Mine Flood Coverup

EastSouthWestNorth preserves a surprisingly frank account by a Chinese paper about how mine owners in Ruzhou smothered news about a mine disaster — by paying off both real and pretend...

19 August 2005

Egypt: We're Watching You Movement

The Arabist Network report the launched of a new movement in Egypt called Shayfeenkum-We're watching you. The movement will provide an avenue for citizens to report any human rights violations,...

19 August 2005

Inside the Japanese Blogosphere

Japanese bloggers were able to offer almost realtime accounts of the recent earthquake in northern Japan. Says one Japanese blogger: The fridge door swung open, the goldfish bowl fell off...

19 August 2005

Nigeria: Sex, AIDS and coercion

Women's Autonomy and Sexual Sovereignty Movements comments on an op-ed article by a New York Times contributor in Nigeria about women's vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and coercive sex, which is often...

19 August 2005

Sudan: Money running out

Sleepless in Sudan worries about what will happen if the African Union peacekeeping troops in the troubled region of Darfur don't get paid because of funding shortfalls.

19 August 2005