Stories from 29 March 2006
Ukraine: Unexpected Losses On The Way To Parliament
Scott W. Clark of Foreign Notes reviews two political forces that didn't make it into the parliament: Pora-PRP and Volodymyr Lytvyn's Bloc: “Besides their TV advertising later was awful. (A shot showing Klitchko holding a hawk. Close-up of Klitchko and the hawk with Klitchko trying to stare it down. He...
Poland: Parliamentary Crises
The beatroot writes on Poland's inability to come up with a coalition government and the not too efficient attempts to fix the situation: “Many normal people here argue, however, that it is not the system […] that is to blame for Poland’s political instability, but – and here’s a radical...
Czech Republic: Havel Denied Entry Into Belarus Embassy
br23 blog reports on how Vaclav Havel, former president of the Czech Republic, was denied entry by the Belarus Embassy in Prague when he wanted to deliver a letter of protest. The incident reminded him of 1979, when Tom Stoppard and Harold Pinter were protesting his own imprisonment, but were...
Moroccan Arabic blogs opt for the sarcasme and CAIR dare to defend a Christian convert
Moroccan bloggers who choose to blog in another language(Arabic) than Arabic are facing a new wave of criticism(Arabic). “Why don't you blog in Arabic?” (French) Is a question they had to answer last week, and as I told you in my latest roundup, they were many to justify(French) their choice...
North Korea: Official defects
Joshua from The Korea Liberator compares the recent defection of a North Korean man rumored to be a diplomat with the 2003 defection of senior North Korean weapons official Bok Ku Lee.
Dangdut music and dance in Singapore and all about Home
Singapore is a good place to explore cultures from all over South East Asia. The blogger at licencetospill took some of her friends to a Dangdut club. Dangdut is a form of music from Indonesia. The blogger explains the main difference between a DD song and any other indonesian song...
Taiwan: Teaching English
Scott Sommers provides some context in response to recent comments on websites frequented by English teachers regarding government restrictions on private language schools in “The Continued Crackdown on Commercial Education.”
Korea: Navy's problems in public relations
Matt from Occidentalism posts on a new South Korean destroyer ship whose insignia, some argue, portrays missiles being fired toward Japan.
Japan: Increases tower size
“The race for the world's biggest phallic symbol continues,” says one reader in response to Japundit's post on plans to build a new Tokyo Tower by 2011 which will stand over 600 meters tall.
China: Convenient humanitarianism
In his post “Arab Leaders Ignore Chinese,” lordgenius at China Intel mentions an upcoming meeting between the Arab League and the Chinese Communist Party in Sudan which will focus on Iraq, the Palestinian-Israeli peace process and the ongoing civil strife in western Sudan's Darfur region. “Isn't there something missing here?...
China: Contemporary art rising
In “Has China's Time Come?,” the black China hand blogs on this Friday's Sotheby's art sale in New York which will feature works from some of hottest names in contemporary Chinese art: “Has the dragon landed or is this just some China Hand wannabes’ flavor-of-the-month club campaign?”
China: Farmers need to consume
Marty over at The Big Yuan offers his interpretation of Morgan Stanley's just-released analysis of China's eleventh five year plan and its global implications: “The only realistic way to ease the trade balance is to increase the flow of exports into the burgeoning Chinese consumer market. Both Dell and Wal-mart...
China: Revolutionary irony
In “So-called…,” Massage Milk blogger Wang Xiaofeng assigns labels with a contemporary context and a heavy dose of irony to Cultural Revolution-era propaganda posters. [ZH]
Charles Taylor: As the story unfolds
In August 2003, ex-Liberian leader, Charles Taylor, was flown from Monrovia to Abuja on board a Nigerian Boeing 727 presidential jet. Taylor had just been granted asylum in Nigeria as part of a deal overseen by the African Union, the United Nations (UN) and the United States, which was aimed...
Trinidad & Tobago: Stephen Ames wins
Trinidadian bloggers Sanjiva, Haveworld and Simian Scratchings acknowledge Trinidad-born (and naturalized Canadian) golfer Stephen Ames’ victory in the 2006 Players Championship.
Trinidad & Tobago: ICTs and SMEs
Taran Rampersad posts a personal summary of a conference onn “Improving Organisational Performance in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through Information and Communication Technology” he attended recently in Trinidad. He also attaches his presentation notes in both OpenOffice and PowerPoint formats.
DRC: A Chat with Blogger Tony Katombe
Anthony Mica Katombe (Tony for short) is a blogger from the DRC who’ll “turn 39 April 13”. He has a degree in English and African Cultural Studies Education from a Congolese University. He owns Le Blog du Congolais and co-edits Le Prince du Fleuve Congo, a group blog. On the...
Jamaica: Poetry reading
Geoffrey Philp reports on a reading by Jamaican poet Pam Mordecai.
Bahamas: Condi's visit
Sir Arthur Foulkes is satisfied with comments made by US Secreatary of State Condolezza Rice during her brief visit to the Bahamas, and believes they “should help to correct the myopic vision of those Bahamian isolationists who believe that the Bahamas should have as little as possible to do with...
Trinidad & Tobago: No smelter
Elspeth Duncan summarises the commentary on the aluminium smelter being planned for a community in south Trinidad and the protests about it and posts some photos from Sunday's march at her Flickr page. She also posts a conceptual video she has produced to raise awareness of the issue. Attillah Springer...
Nigeria: Solar Eclipse
Chxta’s World and Janada’s Blog present some pictures of the solar eclipse witnessed today in parts of Nigeria.