Stories from 17 September 2007
India: Tamil television and politics
Culture and Politics of Tamil Cinema on the many intersection between television channels and politics in Tamil Nadu.
Sri Lanka: Monks and Politics
Transcurrents on the intrusion of Buddhist monks in politics in Sri Lanka.
Pakistan: The Military and Business
Mash on the plundering of Pakistan by the military and the ties with commerce in the country.
Hong Kong: Incredibubble!
David Webb has a analytical article on the China stock bubble and its impact and implication for Hong Kong: When the mainland bubble bursts, it will accelerate the onset of the first post-IPO banking crisis.
Iran blocks access to Google and Gmail
Iran has blocked access to Google search engine and Gmail Google's free webmail service, Mehr news agency reported today. “I can confirm these sites have been filtered,” said Hamid Shahriari, the secretary of Iran's National Council of Information.
Morocco: The King of the Poor?
Moroccans love their king - but do they love his daily budget? And what's going on during Ramadan? Jillian York has this week's update on the Moroccan blogosphere.
Egypt: When Mubarak Sneezes
“When Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak sneezes, foreign investors get a cold. That’s how depended this country is on this single man,” notes The Big Pharaoh from Egypt, who links to this story.
Bahrain: Human Trafficking in the Gulf
“Human trafficking remains to be one of our biggest crimes in the Gulf, with little to no awareness campaigns or activism revolving around it,” writes Bahraini blogger Esra'a , who links to an alarming video and chilling stories in this post.
Iraq: Ugly Situation
“It seems like things are going to be really ugly within the next few months, and casualties from all sides will increase, unless the bush administration understands there is no way out of the mess in Iraq other than negotiating a complete withdrawal with all parties of conflict (represented by...
No Iraqis in Anti-war Rally
Iraq Pundit attended an anti-war rally in Washington DC but .. “I didn't see any sign of Iraqis at all, though obviously, some might have been there. I saw no signs indicating that Iraqis had taken advantage of the march to demand that U.S. troops leave Iraq. In fact, you...
Saudi Arabia: Sex-segregated Sidewalks
Sex-segregated sidewalks could soon become the norm in Saudi Arabia, reports Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah, who links to a news article. “Did prophet Mohammed ordered to have two sidewalks; one for men, another for women? It’s ironic to think of having a ‘women sidewalks’… I mean, how will they mark...
Trinidad & Tobago: Disaster Preparedness
“We're well into the 2007 hurricane season, and all I got was a lousy brochure…”: KnowProSE.com blogs about disaster preparedness in the Caribbean.
Dominica: Safe Sex
“Carnival in the Caribbean is a ribald time. Lots of drinking, lots of dancing, lots of s-e-x”: Living Dominica is happy to see condom use being promoted on the island.
Barbados: Blogs Breaking News
As the mainstream media in Barbados finally prints a controversial story that was initially broken by blogs, Barbados Underground writes: “We speak for the Blogosphere when we say that we are prepared to work with all media entities to ensure that pertinent issues are exposed for public consumption.”
Bahamas, USA: Health Insurance
“I do not believe that my health is a commodity that the ‘market’ — any market — should determine. That’s what I elect my governments for,” writes Nicolette Bethel, as she examines the issue of health insurance.
Trinidad & Tobago: Fairy Tale Ending?
Jumbie's Watch compares the political goings-on in Trinidad and Tobago with an Enid Blyton fairy tale.
China: Has Crazy English gone crazy?
“Stand up, those who refused to be slaves……,” This is what Chinese national anthem tells. But in a class by Li Yang in Crazy English, over 3000 students kneeled down to their teachers. Is this a real thanksgiving or just a brainwashing of how to be a slave?
Guatemala: Menchu's Low Vote Total Due To Racism?
Rigoberta Menchu received approximately 3% of the total vote in this month's Presidential elections. Luis Figueroa of Carpe Diem [ES] writes about the charges of racism that accounted for this low percentage.
Argentina: Educ.ar Website is Back
The Argentine educational web portal Educ.ar [ES] is back up and running. Martin Varsavsky, whose foundation provided the funds to create the site, writes on his blog that he is pleased that the site had been relaunched [ES].
Peru: Abimael Guzman Captured 15 Years Ago
Desde el Tercer Piso [ES], El Blog de Morsa [ES], and Pospost [ES] write about the 15th anniversary of the capture of Shining Path leader Abimael Guzman.
Mexico: Benefits for Ex-Presidents
Ex-presidents of Mexico receive monthly salaries and support staff for their personal use. Enigmatario [ES] writes about these benefits given to the former heads of state and for what the money could be better used.
