Stories from 20 November 2007
Armenia: She Stoops to Conquer
Trygveu at Armenia and me writes about a play to be staged in Yerevan. The Norwegian ex-pat aid worker will take a leading role in She Stoops to Conquer.
Russia: Siemens Bribery Scandal
Robert Amsterdam writes about “only 2 million euros” in bribes paid by Siemens to 38 Russian officials.
Brazil: Books for Black Consciousness Day
To celebrate the Black Pride today in Brazil, The Spectacled Bear recommends a list of books on the subject: “As this blog is principally about books and is principally aimed at English speakers in Brazil, I want to recommend some great books available on Afro-Brazilian themes for kids, i.e. in...
Bangladesh: Cyclone Sidr and the News
Unheard Voices on how hard it is to watch the news about Cyclone Sidr without being moved by the plight of the victims.
Mozambique: Speaking the language of Tonga
Moçambique para todos [pt] announces the launch of the a Portuguese-Tongan/Tongan-Portuguese dictionary in Maputo this Thursday. Gitonga is the language spoken by Tonga people.
Bangladesh: Farmers and the Cyclone
Bangladesh From Our View on the need for farmers to recover from the devastation caused by Cyclone Sidr.
Pakistan: Musharraf and Laughs
Among other things, the Emergency provokes some people to make fun of Pervez Musharraf. More at Chapati Mystery.
Brazil: First decade of ‘O Indivíduo’
Pedro Sette Câmera celebrates 10 years of blogging at O Indivíduo [pt] writing up a balance of the blog and thinking about the future. “If I were to wish anything for the future, I would only hope to renew this kind of real professional found in the first printed ‘O...
Macau: Back to the middle age when it comes to AIDS
Leocardo [pt] is disgusted at decision by a Portuguese court to back a hotel chain that sacked a HIV-infected cook. “We are back to the middle age when it comes to AIDS. We are back to the times when we thought that AIDS was transmitted by shaking hands or mosquitoes...
Brazil: Buy a car, pay in 60 months and never get out of debt
There seem to be more and more adverts trying to convince customers that it is a good idea to buy a car and pay for it in 60 monthly instalments. Chico [pt] takes a look at one ad that offers a laptop, a palm or a DVD player and concludes...
The Transborder Immigrant Project
Andre Lemos [pt] talks about Ricardo Dominguez's The Transborder Immigrant Project which has just won the Transnational Communities Award.”It is a mix of art and activism. Using mobile phones equiped wirh GPS, the project aims to help immigrants who try to cross the border between Mexico and US to find...
China: Bloggers bust another really big lie
One of the less glamorous side-effects of censorship, the impact the 17th Communist Party National Congress had on Chinese media made a faked photograph of a rare tiger the top story throughout the Chinese blogsphere for the entire past month. The whole affair ended this weekend when an obscure blogger...
Chile: El Mercurio and Google Earth
Tomás Dinges of Chile From Within is skeptical about the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio's relationship with Google Earth.
Japan: The Bully and the Bullied
The phenomenon of bullying in schools is a recurring theme in Japan. A government survey released last week, which found that that the number of cases of bullying has increased sixfold over the result of the year before, has driven up anxiety about the problem yet again. In this post, some of the thoughts of Japanese bloggers, a translated message from a victim, and the experience of one counselor in confronting the problem.
Venezuela: Low Turnout Expected in Referendum
Bloggings by Boz takes a look at some expected trends in the upcoming Constitutional referendum vote in Venezuela.
Russia: Election and the OSCE
A discussion of the upcoming Russian election and the situation with the OSCE observers over at Crooked Timber.
Romania: More on the Election and Referendum
TOL's Romania writes more about Nov. 25: “A date that will mean a lot for the political landscape of Romania. The European elections will be the first in a series of 5 electoral processes in Romania in less than 2 full years. So they will be seen as an indicator...
Romania: Upcoming Election and Referendum
Kosmopolit writes about the Nov. 25 referendum on changing the voting system in Romania – and on the not-so-popular election to the European Parliament: “…being elected for the European Parliament would mean being “banned” from the Romanian political scene exactly in the important electoral year 2008 (with presidential and parliamentary...
Ethiopia: Teddy Afro Concert Review
A review of Teddy Afro concert in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: “Last night I attended a concert by Teddy Afro. I think I'd heard the name maybe once before K mentioned going. The concert was being held at the Ghion, so I imagined a nice little crowd in one of the...
Sudan: What has been happening in Darfur?
Meskel Square blogs about what has been happening lately in Darfur, Sudan: “As you no doubt already know, the Sudanese government, the African Union, the United Nations and a smattering of obscure rebel factions are still going through the motions of peace talks in the Libyan town of Sirte.”
Cameroon: Bate Besong's Beasts of No Nation
A study of Beasts of No Nation, a work by Cameroonian playwright: “Bate Besong is one of the most renown Cameroonian playwright of English expression, besides Bole Butake, Victor Epie Ngome and John Nkemngong, who is of the younger generation of Cameroonian playwrights in English.”
