September, 2006

Stories from September, 2006

China: Killing chickens, not for bird flu

  29 September 2006

A corruption probe has led to the dismissal of Chen Liangyu, the highest-ranked Communist official in Shanghai and key member of former Chairman Jiang Zemin‘s Shanghai Gang, a rival faction to the current administration headed by Chairman Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao. Where the hundred million dollars has gone...

China: the reply of the spoofed poet

  29 September 2006

The poet Zhao Lihua has been spoofed by netizen in the past few weeks. Joel Martinsen from DAWEI summarizes the debate and translates the reply of the poet: Let's all write poetry!

Singapore and Hong Kong: ban FEER

  29 September 2006

The Far Eastern Economic Review's editor blogs about the decision of singapore government to ban the magazine: “It has explicitly warned that not only is the Review Publishing Company forbidden from importing or distributing the Hong Kong-based monthly, but Singaporeans will also commit a criminal offense if they import or...

Hong Kong: urban renewal

  29 September 2006

Chong at interlocals.net translates a citizen report on a urban renewal project in a poor district in Hong Kong: “There are more poor people than the rich in Hong Kong. But why the rich need to come to Kwun Tong downtown, even though they already have the whole Hong Kong...

Serbian Blog Roundup

  29 September 2006

A house at the Golija Mountain – by Bogdan Cirovic At English section of Serbiancafe discussion board, Toshiba blogs out: Village of Rudno at Golija mountain is at altitude of 1200 meters. You would need four hours from Belgrade to get here by car. Beauties of one region are not...

Voices from Central Asia and the Caucasus

  29 September 2006

After a busy summer, we bid you welcome to a new roundup of notable online conversations from Central Asia and the Caucasus, brought to you by neweurasia and read out loud to you by the headmaster of a school in southern Kyrgyzstan's Sary-Moghul. There is not all too much being...

Ghana: how to participate in web economy

  28 September 2006

Tropically Tolerant has an interesting idea: “In my last entry, I suggested that it was time for the average Ghanaian developer with an Internet connection to participate in the new web economy. I concluded that the main barrier to entry is a distribution network for the money being earned. Today,...

Ethiopia: were blogs blocked?

  28 September 2006

“One day Ethiopia had one of the busiest and fastest-growing blogging scenes in the whole of Africa. The next, more than two-thirds of its online journals simply disappeared,” begins the BBC's Focus on Africa magazine article about the great Ethiopian blog blockage.

Peru: Inca Kola

  28 September 2006

Alejandro of Peru Food tells the incredible story of Inka Kola, or “the little cola that could.”

Kazakhstan: Borat vs. Nomad

  28 September 2006

Registan.net says that Western media are over-hyping the Kazakh government's displeasure with Sasha Baron Cohen's character Borat, a racist, homophobic journalist claiming to be from Kazakhstan.

Kyrgyzstan: Bishkek Panthers

  28 September 2006

Tolkun Umaraliev reports on the Bishkek Panthers, the American Football team at the American University of Central Asia, the only such team in Kyrgyzstan. Tolkun says that the team has finally bested its rivals from Almaty and it plans to participate in international contests in the future.

Nigeria: corruption in high places

  28 September 2006

Oloniyi David Ajao writes about corruption in high places in Nigeria, “Accusations have been that the Vice President is corrupt, and should not be allowed to stand as president in next year’s election. Gbenga Obasanjo (President Obasanjo’s son) accused him, as did the President himself. Several such accusations have been...

Afghanistan:Between war and peace

  28 September 2006

Afghan Warrior talks about countrie's security problems. The blogger says the daily life of most Afghan people is normal but in some southern and western provinces the daily life of Afghans is not very peaceful, particularly for those people who work for government and foreign organizations. They are not feeling...

India: Discussing feminism

  28 September 2006

Hip Hop Grandmom discusses feminism. “When we talk of equal rights for men and women what exactly do we mean? I know of a family a young couple where the husband is supposed to sweep and the wife has to swab.”

Syria: Democracy vs. Engagement!

  28 September 2006

While the Democracy Faith seems to have been based on the assumption that authoritarianism and corruption in the Broader Middle East and North Africa region seem to play a role in encouraging international terrorism, the Engagement Faith is premised on the assumption that authoritarian regimes are much more capable of...