Stories from 4 January 2007
Antigua & Barbuda: Will the CSME benefit us?
A post by Courtney Henry on the Talk Antigua blog expressing serious doubts about the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) and its usefulness to Antigua sparks off a lively comment thread.
China: Guangzhou's wealth
Guangzhou city mayor recently claimed that, according to local household registration data, the GDP per capita will be over US$10,000 this year. William long notices that such claim is a kind of “impractical boasting” (zh).
China: Yao Ming and beef
Frank Yu from One Billion users comments on the recent McDonald's poster featuring Yao Ming with horns with a subtitle: “beef makes you strong”, but the whole image conveys a totally different message to foreigners:
China: curse of golden flower
Peijin Chen from Shanghaiist has written a review on the recent movie: curse of the golden flower.
Armenia: Listening to Country Music in Armenia
Nazarian writes about hearing country music while listening to Voice of America as a child in Armenia and not understanding what it was or who listened to it until living in the United States two decades later.
Kazakhstan: Public Figures on 2006
Leila surveys the opinions of public figures regarding 2006 in Kazakhstan at neweurasia.
Turkmenistan: “Sacred Traditions” Kept and Broken
Registan.net discusses “sacred Turkmen traditions” (which are, in actuality, policy stances but called such in homage to the former president's constant citing of tradition in lawmaking) that the interim president is pledging to keep and, in welcome news, break.
Iran:A collective filtering for 597 blogs
According to Webna,a blog service provider,Mihan, announced the authorities asked them to filter about 597 blogs at the same time [Fa].
Africa: castrating Africa
Sotho writes a short, but thought provoking piece titled, Castrating Africa: Pascal Sevran is a French TV host. In his latest book, “Le Privilège des Jonquilles,” he says, “The black man’s dick is responsible for hunger in Africa.”
Toward a Francophone Global Voices
Tunisian blogger Sami Ben Gharbia on the Global Voices summit recently held in Delhi, India (Fr): “A will to build a francophone version of Global Voices and to spread the Global Voices China experiment was expressed. The first objective consists in translating in French what is written in English on...
Africa: honoring the African grandmother
Mental Acrobatics honors the African grandmother, “The group of people that symbolise above any other group, this unselfishness, this sacrifice for community, the group that is the rock of African societies up and down the continent, that provides a family home, a sympathetic ear, a lesson in discipline”
Ukraine: Pagan Tradition
Ukraine List writes about Ukraine’s pagan tradition.
Not So Fast! – Bolivia to Require Visas from U.S. Citizens
Este artículo también está disponible en español en el sitio Blogs de Bolivia In a surprise move, the Bolivian government announced that it will no longer allow U.S. citizens to freely enter the country without a visa obtained at a consulate. Citing reciprocity and security concerns, any U.S. citizens including...
Ukraine: Thoughts on Staying and Leaving
LJ user chio – of Simferopol, Crimea – writes (RUS): On life A friend came for a visit recently – he had emigrated to New Zealand some five years ago as an already established businessman. He was shocked by what he saw around him. He was genuinely surprised by the...
India: A city safe for women
Metroblogging Mumbai reflects on an incident where a girl was assaulted by a mob of 50 men during New Year celebrations in the city. “There is always an age-old argument between my out-of-town friends, namely Delhi that Mumbai is a much better city to live in than any other in...
Bangladesh: Uncertainty and Politics
The 3rd World View on uncertainty in Bangladeshi politics. “And why should people trust their faith in the electoral process even overseen by a caretaker government when you can rent a rally and good candidates do not get the chance to run for the election.”
Sri Lanka: LTTE Tactics
Lankawatch on LTTE tactics given the heavy defeats in hands of the Sri Lankan military. “In a sickening revelation witnesses have said that the LTTE repeatedly filled up buildings used as training camps with school children ahead of an imminent air attack.”
Nepal: Video footage of Nepalgunj Pahadi Attack
Democracy for Nepal has footage of violence and conflict. “The video shows the Pahadis went on a rampage in Nepalgunj. They attacked many Madhesi business establishments at the heart of that town.”
Venezuela: Los Roques en el New York Times
Sebastian Delmont, a Venezuelan living in New York, was pleasantly surprised by a New York Times article [ES] about the archipelago of Los Roques, which he describes as “one of the most beautiful places in Venezuela.”
Argentina, Panama: Pastry Pictures
Panamanian chef Melissa de León makes mouths water with a “a pictorial tour of some glorious sweetness from Buenos Aires, Argentina.”
Bolivia: “Observations to Inconsistencies”
Miguel Buitrago takes a look at six recent developments in Bolivia's government that he calls inconsistent.
