Stories from 12 June 2006
Myanmar: Lost Planet
Myanmar blogger at Man Actually takes shares pictures of some attractions and ethnic groups in Myanmar. He says “We can't beat Bangkok for party lovers but we can offer alternative dance parties like in the photos. I am sure they will like the drum beats with our unique rice &...
Vietnam: Technology to Stay in Touch
Antidote to Burnout reviews some of the internet and communication tools he is using to stay in touch with family, friends and business contacts.
Martinique: Taxi Antics
According to Bien Vu(Fr), individual Martiniquan taxi drivers have a mind and a pricing all their own: “Sometimes, says the blogger, they do not turn on the meter during the ride and the price of the trip depends on their moods, their preference or quite simply your relationship to them....
Haiti: Filmmaker Sacha Parisot at Boston International Film Festival
Says (Fr)AlterPresse, “After Skin Deep, a film for which he received numerous distinctions, Haitian-American filmmaker Sacha Parisot is back. But this time it is with the film
Peru: New Opposition
Journal Peru tries to make sense of the not-so-clear, new opposition of Peru.
Mexico: Xocalatl
Santiago relates the interesting etymology of everyone's favorite aphrodisiac, chocolate.
Argentina: “Happy Birthday Buenos Aires!”
Robert Wright wishes Buenos Aires, founded 426 years ago, a very happy birthday.
Egypt: Inverting the Egyptian Flag
The Egyptian bloggers are circulating inverted Egyptian flags on their websites and mailing lists. The initiative was launched, it seems, shortly before the May 25 pro-judges demo, but it’s picking up now. Several blogs have posted the picture, Hossam said.
Palestine: Arab Desperate Housewives
Qwaider wonders: “I'm sure many of you are well aware of the show “Desperate housewives” aired just about everywhere these days. But has any one notices the mushrooming numbers of real desperate Arab housewives out there. Sure it's not as blatant and forward as it is in the west, nevertheless...
United Arab Emirates: Censorship, again!
UAE's ISP has blocked UAE community Blog. It's not clear yet what is the reason. A blogger who goes by the name war_in_iran said that: “They maybe the community was having a bad effect “culturally” on the the innocent youth of this great country.”
Jordan: Jordanians Protest Against Zarqawi Supporters
2,000 Jordanians protested in front of the parliament today, denouncing terrorism and mainly the act of those four IAF (Islamic Action Front) MPs who went to Zarqawi’s funeral to offer their condolences and praise him as a “martyr”, Naseem said.
Israel: IDF and Gaza Beach Massacre – ‘We Didn’t Do It…They Killed Themselves’
The comedy of errors continues with the IDF positing various theories about how eight Palestinian beachgoers were blown to smithereens last Friday. At first, the Israeli press and military sources said the most likely explanation was an errant Israeli shell which hit the beach instead of its target 400 meters...
Mexico, Brazil: Marketers Score Goal
Arturo de Albornoz wonders if Coca-Cola didn't go too far when they turned several bus stops into (ES) goal post facades (with photos). A few days later, de Albornoz finds out that the Pepsi-owned brand “Gauraná Antarctica” one-upped Coca-Cola by engulfing entire bus stops with life sized goal posts (ES).
Latin America: Spanish Wikipedia Reaches 125,000 Entries
Menéame announces with much fanfare (ES) that the Spanish Wikipedia reached 125,000 entries on Friday. Eduardo Arcos documents it's exponential growth in 2006 (ES).
Philippines: Classroom Shortage
President Arroyo in Philippines suggested doubling the number of students in a class to solve the problem of classroom shortage. Rolly does not agree “Excuse me but is the President that naive? Is this a simple mathematical problem? Why do I sense a famous “eat-cake-because-there=is-no-bread” stance made by a beheaded...
Malaysia: Strange Encounters
Wendy thinks she has the ability to communicate with spirits. “The first time when I was 7. I used to cry and complained that I did not want to go to school. Reason? I used to sit in this dark bicycle shed before school starts. There was always this old...
Malaysia: Family Pride
Meifon talks about the importance of eating together with family and is proud of her parents who encourage her to be independent.
Czech Republic: Leos Janacek Archive
Jesse of Bored in Brno visits a famous Czech composer's archive (Leos Janacek, “considered among the three most significant Czech composers in the history of this country's music”) and finds it a bit too researcher-unfriendly.
Poland: Council of Europe's Report Inconclusive
The beatroot writes that the conclusions of the Council of Europe's investigation on whether the CIA had its secret prisons in Poland are not based on strong evidence.
Romania: Car Accident Injustice
Andy H of Csikszereda Musings writes about a car accident in rural Romania – and how he was blamed for it unjustly: only because he is a foreigner, he thinks.
Macedonia: A Trip to Skopje
annabengan of annasblog posts photos from her visit to Skopje, the capital of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and writes about a “bizarre” hotel they stayed in while there.
