Stories from 21 November 2007
Russia: Pre-Election “Excesses”
Sean Guillory “can’t help chuckle at the Putin and United Russia’s excesses.”
Russia: Playing Monopoly
A short note on playing Monopoly in the former Soviet Union and Russia, at Robert Amsterdam's blog.
Colombia: Pictures of Senator with FARC Leaders
Colombian bloggers react to pictures posted by a press agency featuring a beret-wearing Senator Piedad Cordoba smiling and holding a bouquet of flowers while embracing FARC leaders during a recent meeting in Venezuela where the humanitarian exchange was to be discussed. Some wonder whether this sends an inappropriate message, while others try to see the photo with optimism.
Brazil: Saving the rainforest and feeding more people
Would you like to hear a fascinating story on how indigenous tribes in Brazil have managed to make extremely fertile dark earth from nutrient-poor yellowish soils, and thus may represent the ability to save the rainforest and feed more people? “The result of such a system would mean better soil,...
Brazil: Falling in love with Tocantins
Pollyana Ferrari [pt] has just fallen in love with the stories presented by a new blog called Projeto Tocantins [pt], written by a newly graduated journalist who was sent from South Brazil to work in Southern Tocantins and discovers a quite different world. All true stories. “I loved it and...
Mozambique: Registration period is postponed
The voter registration period which began on September 24 will not finish tomorrow, November 22, as planned. According to Moçambique para Todos [pt], “The registration has been postponed until December 15 this year, after which there will be a break for Christmas, Family Day and New Year's Celebrations, and work...
Brazil: Community shows what peace is
The residents of Coque, a poor neighbourhood of Recife, organized a rally today to show that they disapproved the way in which the police force invaded the area in a ‘peacekeeping operation‘ a month ago. “The said operation was called “Paz no Coque” (Peace in Coque). They might even have...
India: One year of India
Returned to Bangalore, India reflects on being back in the country for a year now.
India: Neglected Cemeteries
My Himachal on neglected cemeteries in Shimla, many of them them from the British Raj era.
Sri Lanka: Media and Politics
Lanka Rising on the connections between media and politics. “Media is no longer playing mere supporting role for democracy, but it has become key influential entity supporting marketing campaigns for political parties.”
Pakistan: Protest at Punjab University
More updates on student protests against the actions of a specific political body at the Punjab University at Metroblogging Lahore.
Bangladesh: On compassion and state boundaries
T’ings ‘n Times is appalled by the response of a commenter who finds the author's concern for the victims of the cyclone in Bangladesh to be dubious.
Georgia: Politicians Speak
TOL Georgia posts a collection of quotes from various political figures commenting on the recent unrest and clashes in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.
Armenia: Spam the Vote
The Armenian Observer reports on the continuing efforts of U.S.-born opposition politician Raffi Hovannisian to get his Armenian citizenship backdated enough to allow him to run for president next year. However, the blog raises concerns at the use of spamming techniques by his Heritage party to do so.
Caribbean: Blogalization
What does the term "blogalization" mean to the Caribbean? In this post, a few regional bloggers weigh in. Guyana-Gyal said: "I don't know who coined it…I first used it in June, then found others have been using it before. In some small way, can blogging for the Caribbean be like globalization?..."
Barbados, Guyana, Venezuela: Mining Attacks
Notes From The Margin has been “monitoring reports of Venezuelan soldiers blowing up mining barges in the Guyana interior” and wonders how the two countries’ ongoing border dispute will play out.
Bahamas, Cuba: At The Crossroads
WeblogBahamas.com links to US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez's speech at a Heritage Foundation series called Cuba at the Crossroads.
Trinidad & Tobago: Crime Talk
“These men choose words that are meant to convince the population that crime is being handled effectively, yet the results show the opposite”: Jumbie's Watch thinks that the people in charge combating crime in Trinidad and Tobago are “flapping lips” and “bumping gums”.
New Zealand: Electoral Finance Bill
The bloggers at Pacific Empire are protesting the Electoral Finance Bill. They feel that the bill will limit their freedom of speech.
Fiji: Hindi and Fijian for Children
Babasiga likes the idea of schoolchildren learning Fijian and Hindi, the languages of the two ethnic groups in Fiji but wants kids to learn local dialects too.
Myanmar: Reliable News
Jotman writes “In Burma your only reliable sources of information are electronic.”
