Stories from 28 September 2005
Mexico: Congressional Independence
Michelle Dion and Matthew Shugart continue to disagree on the level of legislative independence and its political and electoral effects in Mexico.
Mexico: Chespirito
Matthias Goodman has an exhaustive post on the career of famed Mexican slap-stick comedian, Chesperito.
Jamaica: Rules for Driving
Scratchie's World offers a 13 point guide to driving in Jamaica.
Jamaica: Primer to Reggae Music
Lusan has a brief introduction to the history of reggae music in Jamaica.
Chile: “My First PC, But For Real” Petition Delivered to President
Christian Ocampo has an update [ES] on the “My First PC, But For Real” campaign's petition which was delivered to president Lagos.
Bolivia: Global Perspective
MABB has a collection of news excerpts from around the world relating to Bolivia including a focused look on U.S. interest in the region.
Brazil: A Blogger's Introduction
Claudio Tellez, a German-born, conservative, Chilean mathematician living in Brazil offers an introductory first post on his new English-language weblog.
Bolivia: Rock Boliviano
Blogs de Bolivia has a list of Bolivian rock groups’ websites.
Jordan: Is BigBrother watching?
Firas is wondering why non of Jordan Planet (Jordan Blogs Aggregator) bloggers talks or mention local issue. He says that if you browse JP’s blogs, you will soon come to the conclusion that Jordan is an oasis of democracy where people are enjoying financial ease and prosperity.
Belize: New Company to Search for Oil
With global oil reserves running low, Belizean writes about a company which will begin searching for oil in Belize.
Iraq: Referendum
Omar asks, because Iraqi intellectuals, artists and writers have taken it upon themselves to monitor the referendum, no one wants to come from outside?
Venzuela: Starting to Dialogue
Responding to recent violations to freedom of speech in government-run media, Venezuelan bloggers have launched a collective weblog, En Diálogo [ES] (In Dialogue). The blog intends to bring people together from different political backgrounds to discuss the country's problems and put forward solutions.
Iran: Sanction
Mr.Behi grew up under war and sanctions. He says, “I do not want to see Iran under sanction again. This government cares about it's ideology first and then the people. That is insane. Who said that we should cut relations with US and pay this huge price. This is enough.”
China: Internet regs seen before
Running Dog comments on the latest set of Internet guidelines to come out of Beijing, saying that the new rules are a re-hash of the old, and that China's ability to filter and censor the Internet is already well known.
Singapore: Blogs worse than porn?
Huichieh Loy, at From a Singapore Angle takes issue with a recent commentary in the Straits Times newspaper saying blogs are worse than porn, and links to the storm of reaction this kicks up in the blogosphere.
Malaysia: ISA could lead to rights abuses
Human Rights Watch reports that Malaysia’s Internal Security Act (ISA), which gives the government unchecked powers to detain individuals for long periods without charge, is a recipe for abuse.
Thailand: Music from Chaozhou
Thai-Blogs has a photo essay on the folk art of Teochew (Chiuchow/Chaozhou) opera, and backs it up with a little of the history of the ethnic Chinese who share that birthplace.
Vietnam: The East is Punk
Coming across an array of punk-style badges in a Saigon market, NoodlePie wonders if the Vietnamese equivalent of Johnny Rotten will finally come and liberate his ears from indigenous pop music.
African Aid: An anti-utopian view
African Bullets and Honey posts a self-styled anti-Western aid screed, citing a recent article on utopianism in the Foreign Affairs journal, and sparking debate in the comments section.
D.R. Congo: What shall we do with the Lord's Resistance?
Congo Watch picks up a report saying that the Congolese army has vowed to disarm 400 Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) fighters who have crossed their border and were last seen subsisting in a national park. S/he also notes a recent post by Ngomrom mentioned on GV last week.
Kenya: Visit to the British High Commission
What an African Woman Thinks has a beautifully written account of a recent visit to the British High Commission in Nairobi, in quest of a visa. Via Kenyan Pundit, who thought so too.
