Stories from 6 February 2006
Peru: The Outsider Effect of Ollanta Humala
Maxwell A. Cameron aims to dissect the exponential rise in popularity of Peru's outsider presidential candidate, Ollanta Humala.
Kazakhstan: Nuclear Power
Ben Paarmann reports that Kazakhstan is moving ahead with plans to construct a nuclear power plant that has proved a source of controversy in the past.
Ecuador: Blogger Wins Journalist Award
Christian Espinosa, Communication professor and author of Cobertura Digital received a National Award of Journalism from the National Union of Journalists for the category of new communication technology. It is the first time such an award has been given to a blogger in Latin America.
Latin America: New Polls
Boz has two posts summing up the latest polls throughout Latin America while Eduardo Avila looks at a new poll in Bolivia which finds overwhelming support for President Evo Morales’ plans to reduce the salaries of politicians.
Argentina: The Story of Italian Immigration
Jeff Barry recounts the history of his girlfriend's ancestors who immigrated to Quilmes after their Adriatic coastal town was occupied my German soldiers. Barry makes the story – representative of a generation of Italian immigrants – come alive with vivid descriptions of their trials and tribulations.
Dedovshchina in the Russian Army
Sean Guillory of Sean's Russia Blog argues that the word ‘hazing’ does not reflect all the brutality of what was done to Andrei Sychev, an 18-year-old Russian soldier in Chelyabinsk.
Bargaining for Grades
George Hari Popescu of Strangers on the Net is frustrated with how some students would go a long way to get their professors to give them the grades they don't deserve.
DIY Advertising and Design in Russia
Konstantin Dlutskiy of the Russian Marketing Blog discusses an eye-catching sign made by a couple selling dairy products at a Russian farmers market. The sign's like a magnet for customers.
Bahrain, more cartoons and animated conversations
The week in Bahrain continues to be dominated by cartoons, which even overshadowed an important speech by the king!
Haitian Election Countdown: Two Bloggers’ views
Are Haitians Really Safer Leading Up to the Election? Haitian blogger Yon Ayisyen, a French-speaking blogger whose name means “A Haitian”, reports his impressions of the buildup to Tuesday, February 7's presidential elections from the capital city of Port-au-Prince. (Yon Aysien is one of the few Haitians blogging from Haiti.)...
Costa Rica Waits for Surprising Election Results
The supposedly predictable Costa Rican elections bring up surprising results as the Candidate Otton Solis faces off with ex-president Oscar Arias for the presidential seat, less than half a point apart, defying every previous prediction and poll result. After a so called dispirited and cold campaign, the candidates to the...
Iran: Jews & Iran
Ahoo, a US based blogger, writes in Peace 77 ( Persian) that Iranian Jews lived 2700 years in Iran but during 27 years were forced to leave country despite their love for Iran. Blogger says millions of Iranian were obliged to go to exile.
Dominica: Death of a village
ThandieLand laments the “death” of her home village in Dominica, tracing its depopulation to migration (internal and external), especially in the aftermath of 1979's Hurricane David. She compares her village's situation to that of the ancestral community of a Kenyan friend which has been decimated by HIV/AIDS.
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Reflections
Abeni grapples with some serious moral issues on receiving a letter from a convicted rapist who seems to have plagiarized the lyrics of “Reflections”, the song by controversially imprisoned Jamaican singer Jah Cure.
This Week in Palestinian Blogs: State of Denial
One year of resistance in Bil'in… Bil'in, which has been struggling non-violently for almost one year now, continues to be robbed by the Israeli occupational forces as the first anniversary of it's non-violent weekly protests (and another sad day) is fast approaching on the 20th of this month Februray, 2006....
Pakistan: Blog-o-reaction
Well, by now, everyone is well aware of the controversy that resulted from the publication of caricatures of Prophet Mohammad, and the resulting protests that have occurred around the world. Being a Muslim, I naturally found the cartoons offensive, so no big surprise there. But I also understand and support...
Algeria: Does the Military Really Rule in Algeria?
A recent post in this blog described the Algerian army's purchase of $4 billion worth of modern fighter jets, tanks, and STA missiles from Russia, at a time when Algeria is in desperate need of renovation of its infrastructure and an economic boost for its civilians. The fact that the...
Jordan: Save Jordan's Forests
The modifications made by the past government is to enable buying and renting Forests for Investment Purposes, giving power to some fat guys in suits with big pockets to destroy the only 9% out of Jordan that consists of forests, nasimjo said.
Israel: The Shabab Invade Jerusalem
The theme was “Olmert is bad for the Jews” at the rally at Zion Square in Jerusalem. Organized by the Yesha Council of Jewish Settlements, speakers at the rally called for the formulation of “a state commission of inquiry into what they called “the brutal police violence” during the eviction...
Tunisia: Blogging vs. Psychiatry
A lot of people are using their blogs as a space to vent, unload and just get things off their chests. They talk about their everyday lives, their problems, their highs and lows, almost everything… I can't but compare this kind of blogging to a session with a psychiatrist, after...
Palestine: Gaza under aerial siege
Didn't get a wink of shut-eye last night. After a back and forth exchange of Apache-fired Israeli rockets, and Islamic Jihad home-made rockets, Israeli forces pounded the strip with great intensity all through the night, Laila El-Haddad said.
