10 May 2007

Stories from 10 May 2007

South Asia: 1857, and 150 years later

  10 May 2007

An interesting discussion at Sepia Mutiny on the nature of the 1857 Rebellion against the British in the subcontinent, as official commemoration appears to suddenly be the mood of the hour. “I know shamefully little about this fundamental event in the history of the Indian Subcontinent, and even less about...

India: Unani Medicine

  10 May 2007

Mumbai Magic goes for a walk in the bazaar and chances upon stores selling Unani medicine. “So how did Unani come to Bhendi Bazaar, a Muslim locality of Mumbai? The Mongols, that's how! When the Mongols invaded Persia and Central Asia, many scholars and physicians of Unani fled to India,...

India: Are we born women?

  10 May 2007

Hip Hop Grandmom attempts to answer if one is born a woman. “The couple meant well and they had probably done so for their daughter. My opinion in the matter was different. I had decided that I would rather invest in her education and let her buy gold or silver...

Sri Lanka: English and More!

  10 May 2007

cerno on a book that explores English as a language in Sri Lanka. “In terms of its content, the book has two broad areas. The first is an overview of the can of worms that is the history, politics, and socio-cultural perceptions of English (and its place) in Sri Lanka....

Nepal: Child Soldiers

  10 May 2007

Nepal Monitor on the plight of child soldiers. “Even as the government was saying that the peace process was holding and the law and order situation had improved, the last time the Carter Center painted a rather gloomy picture of Nepal, saying that there was “unacceptable levels of continued fear,...

Bangladesh: Justice and Farce

  10 May 2007

Mash on the farce of justice and process in Bangladesh. “The military government, under the guise of an “anti-corruption drive”, is purging the political class in Bangladesh. Leading political figures in the country are being rounded up on all sorts of charges. The military has created special “summary courts” to...

Armenia: Police beat opposition protesters in Yerevan

Bloggers were faster then most media covering the violent events of yesterday. Unzipped, Narjan (am), Aramazd (am) here (am), here (am) and here (am), HyeBlog (ru), E-channel blog (am), A1plus blog (am) were among the first to react, mostly bringing information as it came, while the posts made already today...

Ukraine: Preparing for Euro-2012

Kiev Blogger writes about Euro-2012 and the infrastructure changes that Ukraine needs to introduce to make the event successful: “Take hotels. There is a huge lack of them in Kiev, so huge, that if you would look at the prices, you’d notice that they are very high for a country...

Russia: Victory Day in Moscow

The Turkish Invasion writes about Victory Day in Moscow: “The metro was crammed with Veterans and their relatives and some younger men were carrying Red Army division banners. At first, I thought that it was another absurdity to carry war banners in Metro but I was then ashamed to realise...

Croatia: Virginia Kapic

Neretva River writes [link no longer valid] about Virginia Kapic, who, despite involvement with some “violently racist skinhead organizations” of Europe, remains “a leading figure in the Croatian diaspora community.”

Serbia: New Speaker Tomislav Nikolic

Belgrade 2.0 sums up the reactions to the election of Tomislav Nikolic as Serbia's new speaker of the parliament: “What this means is that we have elected a person with national-socialistic ideas for the head of the parliament and that is something that can’t go unnoticed in the world.”

Albania: Fast Driving, etc.

Our Man in Tirana posts pictures of Albania's capital taken from the Sky Tower, and writes about the problem of fast driving in his neighborhood, the recent ‘Gumball Rally,’ which resulted in two deaths, and the upcoming visit of George W. Bush.

Brazil: The Pope is Here – What Now?

  10 May 2007

Brazil, the world's biggest Catholic nation, is now entering the global media stage surrounding the Pope's visit. The previous visits of John Paul II have left profound impressions here, and although Benedict XVI obviously lacks the friendly compassionate mood that easily enraptures the Brazilian soul, the church and the media are working hard to nurture the numinous qualities around the new Pope's tour. The question is: will Benedict succeed in his attempt to push forward his agenda for Latin America? Bloggers comment...

Thailand gets new cyber bill

  10 May 2007

“Thailand's National Legislative Assembly approved a controversial law this week which could seriously effect how Thailand's internet users use the web“, writes Daniel at Metroblogging Bangkok. “This single law could put Thailand in the same category as China and Burma with regards to censorship and the lack of a democratic...

Anguilla: A Lost Generation?

  10 May 2007

In the context of a recently published World Bank report on the impact of crime in the West Indies, Corruption-free Anguilla writes: “The pervasive violence in our school system warps and distorts the values of our youth. Good teachers are driven away. Well-behaved pupils are sent away to other countries...