2 October 2006

Stories from 2 October 2006

Senegal: Illegal Immigration

  2 October 2006

On illegal African immigration Senegal Diaw (Fr) writes that “the reasons that push young, able men to risk death to come to Europe…are many and complex, and are not necessarily linked to [Senegal's] poverty,” but are rather a product of a country that is not advancing fast enough, whose youth...

Bahamas: Culture as “light fare”

  2 October 2006

A Jamaican newspaper article about the pan-Caribbean arts festival Carifesta confirms Nicolette Bethel's view that Caribbean governments fail to take culture seriously.

China: in memory of Traditional Chinese cartoonist

  2 October 2006

The Chinese cartoonist Liao Bingxiong passed away on 22 September 2006. ESWN translates an articles from the Southern people weekly about the end of traditional Chinese Cartoon style with some typical Liao's political cartoons.

Japan: no girl allowed

  2 October 2006

JP in Japundit reports that the new Abe Cabinet announces that the Japanese Imperial law needs to be revised in order to “ensure a stable male-line succession of emperors.” Although the public poll shows that 63 percent of Japanese favor revision of the Imperial House Law, with 72 percent supporting...

Japan: English education

  2 October 2006

Debito reports that the new Japanese Cabinet opposes primary school English education. The new education minister Ibuki believes that Japanese language ability is going down and they should work on their mother tongue than foreign languages.

Tajikistan: Boycotted Vote

  2 October 2006

Alexander Sadikov reports on the decision of Tajikistan's three most powerful opposition parties to sit out the upcoming presidential election and the decision of four smaller ones to field candidates though it is obvious the current president will be reelected. The decision of these four parties to compete, he says,...

Kazakhstan: The Truth About Nomads

  2 October 2006

KZBlog has a detailed post about Nomad, currently appearing in theaters in Kazakhstan. The movie, as the blogger explains, is based on one part of a larger book telling the story of the creation of the Kazakh nation.

Tajikistan: Gold Teeth

  2 October 2006

Candide says that the news that Tajikistan's president is going after gold teeth in the country, while seemingly a quirky decision, is a very bad sign for the country.

Trinidad & Tobago: Power to the . . . who??

  2 October 2006

“The alarming thing about this document is the amount of extra power it concentrates in a president's hands,” writes Jeremy Taylor, reviewing the scary new draft constitution being proposed by the Trinidad & Tobago government.

Post Coup Developments in Thailand

  2 October 2006

The latest in Thailand is the swearing in of the new prime minister, retired General Surayud Chulanond. General Sonthi's Council For National Security – CNS (formerly known as Council for Demorcratic Reform) is still active and will continue to advise the new prime minister Agam's Gecko says Gen. Sonthi vows...

Jamaica: Belonging

  2 October 2006

“I love being honked at by people I barely know. I enjoy feeling that I belong to something even when the guy selling newspapers, and the one hawking hub-caps, and the nearby gardener all ask me for school-fee money for their kids,” writes Francis Wade of the daily interactions that...

Jamaica: Finding a balance

  2 October 2006

Geoffrey Philp touches upon the complicated relationship Jamaicans have with the land, and how it influences the country's ability to find a balance between “economic progress and a healthy ecology”.