Stories from 19 February 2008
Guyana: State of Insecurity
“It seems like only yesterday the Government said they had a plan, today 13 more souls lay cold as gunmen strike bold”: Guyana 360 experiences deja vu, saying: “This is the worst ever state of insecurity.”
Lesotho: Missionary healers
Black Looks opinions about missionary healers in Lesotho: “The clip shows Basotho being healed miraculously. The clip shows the visitors, the healers, through the grace of God, giving sick Basotho their sight back, their legs, their hearing. And it shows the healers insisting that the healees have now been forgiven...
Cuba: Castro Steps Down
Cuban bloggers are abuzz with news of Fidel Castro's retirement: Babalu Blog: “My emotions are in turmoil”; Child of the Revolution: “I know that when it comes to Castro, nothing ever is what it seems”; Review of Cuban-American Blogs: “Nothing has changed for him or Cuba”; 1Click2 Cuba: “Monarchs excepted,...
Africa: Bush in Africa
Imnakoya points out to what the mainstrem media aren't talking about regarding George Bush trip to Africa: “George W Bush, the president of the greatest and biggest democracy is currently in Africa, in what some call a “barnstorming trip” involving 5 countries, starting from Sunday through Thursday. Today is Day...
Bermuda: Open Government
“Back in November, Bermuda was fixated on our little race war, I mean election, so it’s understandable that the release of Barack Obama’s Technology platform did not get much attention”: Vexed Bermoothes thinks it's worth a read, adding: “We have no vision for open government. Obama is talking about doing...
Barbados: National Strike?
As Barbados seems headed towards a national strike tomorrow, Cheese-on-bread! says: “Well, well. The last time I saw this level of adamance a whole Government fell.” Notes From The Margin adds: “National strikes are like atom bombs, they are great weapons to threaten with, but actually using them makes both...
Uganda: Bloggers tangle with mainstream media
The blogren had their collective eye on Uganda's mainstream media this week. One blogger "treads where the brave dare not go" by posting photos from a tragedy near the capital, while another criticizes the government paper for its seeming support of rapists.
Bahamas: Legalize It?
“The legalization of this habit will not lead to an exponential rise in the number of gamblers. It will, however, allow government to fund programmes that can have a positive impact on our youth…”: Craig Butler at Bahama Pundit blogs about legalizing gambling – and Rick Lowe at WeblogBahamas.com thinks...
Africa: The Grassroots Reporting Project
Afrigadget has launched a new project, The Grassroots Reporting Project: “A combination of mobile phones and computers will be assigned to individuals in 10 African countries for the purpose of getting more on-the-ground reporting of stories of African ingenuity to the world. An AfriGadget editor will be in charge of...
Ghana/Kenya: The bamboo Bike Project
AfriGadget writes a story about bamboo bikes in Ghana and Kenya: “The Bamboo Bike, an endeavour that aims at building bicycles in a sustainable fashion using bamboo as the primary construction material, is a joint project run by Craig Calfree of Calfree Design, a high tech bicycle design firm based...
Tanzania: Paying for electricity without electricity
Pernille writes about media, politics and change in Tanzania: “When the Tanzanians got their electricity bills for January 2008 there was an increase of 30%. Not because they had consumed more electricity, because power is still lacking. When the government ‘bought’ the generator from the Richmond firm, they borrowed 179...
Tanzania: Tanzanian actor in Bongoland II
Bongoland II blog writes about the Tanzanian actor, Shafii Abdul: “As we await the release of Bongoland II, we thought it is only appropriate to tell you about some of the special actors from Tanzania who were part of this amazing production. Meet Shafii Abdul a resident of Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania.”
Somalia: Can a hijab-wearing blogger get a respectable job in the US?
This is our second roundup of Somali blogs discussing various topics including Somali politics, the challenges of wearing a hijab in the United States and the first Somali female pilot.
Tajikistan: Waiting for International Aid
Vadim reports that the Tajikistan's authorities officially admitted inability to cope with the energy crisis by appealing to international community for aid, and wonders why should the foreign governments correct the mistakes of the Tajik officials.
Kazakhstan: Repeated Inter-Ethnic Violence?
Lena B-va reports on the strange incident of an alleged inter-ethnic fight in Kazakhstan between Turks and Kazakhs – the case had been covered by the Turkish press, but omitted in the Kazakhstani media.
Kyrgyzstan: Church Wants to Sue LGBT Organization
GenderStan informs the readers that Russian Ortodox Church of Kyrgyzstan allegedly plans to sue “Labrys”, an NGO dedicated to LGBT rights, following the organization's press conference, where an LGBT-friendly priest Maksim from Apostolic Orthodox Church spoke about his church’s views on homosexuality.
Bolivia: The Real Causes of the Flooding
Bolivida [es], a blog devoted to environmental topics, asks, “What are the causes of the increases in severe floodings, which are affecting thousands of families..?” He points out that some government leaders blaming global warming, but studies by two independent universities are placing blaming on deforestation.
Argentina: Free Hugs in Buenos Aires
La Espada Vengadora [es] announces that the “Free Hugs” campaign will be arriving to Buenos Aires, Argentina on Thursday, and is something must needed in this violent world.
Colombia: Movie About Pablo Escobar
In Colombia, Reticente [es] reviews the latest movie about Pablo Escobar called “Angel or Demon,” and recommends not to take a date because the movie is bad.
Mexico: Cable Car in Mexico City
In order to alleviate some of the traffic difficulties in the area of Santa Fe in Mexico City, the government has proposed the construction of a cable car, writes México Para Los Mexicanos [es].
Environment: Learning from the snow crisis in China.
From ChinaDialogue, Tang Hao writes of the lessons gleaned from the snow crisis in China. “Environmental action alone will not combat the social problems that will arise or worsen with greater disasters. Sustainable development requires that politics and the environment are given equal consideration. The efforts we make will not...
