Stories from 8 September 2006
TV still reigns in Brazil, but here comes YouTube
The magnitude of Internet numbers in Brazil has puzzled specialists in the last months. After overtaking Google's Orkut and exceeding their own world record in navigating time spent on the...
Kyrgyzstan: Tekebaev Update
Sean Roberts has an update on the fallout from the arrest of Omurbek Tekebaev, a Kyrgyz opposition politician, on drug charges in Poland. Edil Baisalov, meanwhile, has video (RU) and...
Armenia: A Yorkshire Kurd in Ferik
Onnik Krikorian reports on a visit to the Yezidi village of Ferik in Armenia.
Tajikstan: Baby Jinx
Elizabeth writes about how Tajiks avoid jinxing their newborns and how what she is about to do in the US would mortify her mother-in-law.
Jamaica: 5 Questions with Kwame Dawes
Geoffrey Philip publishes the second in his “Five Questions with. . . ” series on Caribbean writers. This week he interviews Ghana-born, Jamaica-bred poet Kwame Dawes.
Jamaica, USA: Writers’ retreat
Jamaican writer Geoffrey Philp pays homage to a writers’ retreat in Seaside, Florida where he once spent a month living “what is every writer’s dream: waking up in a windswept...
Laos: Video Instruction for making Coconut Custard Dessert
Thai-Laotian blogger Manivan Larprom puts up a video on her blog that shows us how to make Coconut Custard, a popular dessert in Thailand and Laos.
Trinidad & Tobago: First Nation People
“It is my belief that our people should be included in all discussions pertaining to the environment and the well being of our country,” writes Cristo Adonis, shaman of the...
Thailand: Thailand and Expats
Thailand has a good number of foreigners who decide to settle down in the country. One such expat asks “So where is home? Can I, as an expat call this...
Trinidad & Tobago: A history of air travel
Karen Walrond offers a personal history of air travel, which has changed, she notes, “not just because of planes flying into skyscrapers. . . it's just that societal customs have...
Cambodia: Jailed Professor
The Details are Sketchy blog takes on the appeal by Asian Human Rights Commission to free an arrested professor Tieng Narith in Cambodia. The blogger feels that the commission is...
Bermuda: Safe against drugs?
An newspaper interview with an pseudonymous drug leader outlining the deficiencies of the authorities in charge of securing Bermuda's ports and borders leaves Sean disheartened: “What would be interesting would...
Bermuda: Civilian hurricane relief
The Limey in Bermuda's latest “open mike” topic is tabled by a former Corporal in the Bermudian Regiment, who draws on his experiences working the hurricane relief detail and calls...
Cuba, Bahamas: Ambassadorial priorities
The Cuban ambassador to the Bahamas has been promoting the Non-Aligned Movement Summit which takes place in Havana from September 11, says Rick Lowe, but “we wonder if he will...
Belize: Independence
Lee Vanderwalker reminds us that September is the month Belizeans celebrate their country's independence from Great Britain and offers a “quick, bad-memory recap of historical events,” which begins: “On September...
Poland: The Week's News Selection
In the past week, the beatroot has covered these subjects: a Polish goalkeeper in “the wonderful world of Scottish sectarian football”; 26 years later, something's wrong with the Polish Solidarnosc;...
Europe: Free Movement of Labor
Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar writes on the free movement of labor and the backlash against East European migrant workers in Western Europe.
Estonia: Historical Revisionism
Giustino of Itching for Eestimaa writes about Estonia's Russian community and the differing interpretations of history: “Under the premise of spooky Stalinist history, everything the USSR did up until the...
Russia, Ukraine: A View From the Roof
Last month, St. Petersburg lost one of its landmarks: built between 1828 and 1835, the Trinity Cathedral (Troitsky Sobor) caught fire on August 25, while under reconstruction. As the cathedral's...
Cote d'Ivoire: Toxic Waste Scandal
Kangni Alem writes (Fr):”There is no virtue in politics, let alone in business. The case of the toxic waste from a Greek (or was it Russian?) ship dumped in Abidjan...
Iran:Old Ayatollah
Mohammad Ali Abtahi, blogger and reformist politician says there is a problem that old officials do not retire. He reports about old Ayatollah Meshkini's,the head of the Assembly of Experts,...
