Stories from 28 February 2008
Korea: Companies that check how many times you go to the toilet
Companies that check how many times you go to the toilet ... What do you think? A post on a Korean blog about companies that monitor their employees every move, has received interesting responses.
Iran and Israel: foes forever or future friends?
The online video posted by the Century Foundation regarding the relations between Israel and Iran and the geopolitical forces that are behind this situation has several bloggers discussing their ideas on who is really pulling the strings.
Africa: Is Chinese influence eroding press freedom?
The BBC posted an interview with head of Reporters Without Borders Leonard Vincent commenting on the decline of press freedom in Africa over the past year. Ugandan blogger, Ugandan Insomniac, was the first to discuss the interview.
Kenya: Dear Kofi Annan…
Following the decision by Kofi Annan to suspend peace talks in Kenya, Kenyan blogger, wheremadnessresides decided to write a letter to him: “Dear Kofi Annan: There's a rumour that you're thinking of leaving Kenya. That you're fed up with our leaders and their madness. That you're up to here and beyond with all this nonsense. I can certainly understand why you would be sorely tempted. But please please please don't. Leave Kenya that is. You can't anyway. You promised, remember?"
South Africa: Racist Black Journalists?
"The media was instrumental is getting this country to where it is today. There were white journalists who risked their lives and even paid the ultimate price to give this country its democracy. What were these black journalists discussing, closeted together with Zuma, that they didn’t want white journalists to hear???," writes ONC Today following the decision by the Forum of Black Journalists (FBJ) to exclude White journalists from covering an off-the-record briefing by Jacob Zuma.
China: Suicide at tech giant Huawei
Following up on one blogger's lead, some comments on yet another staff suicide at tech company Huawei this week which for many reinforces the company's popular image of having one of the toughest workplace environments in the country.
Environment: Dirty cities
Carbon Copy shares some facts about dirty cities… “In South Africa, Johannesburg has vehicle emissions, dust from mine dumps and untarred roads, and excessive burning of coal especially in informal settlements. Cape Town contends with tyres being burned illegally to recover scrap metal. And even small rural towns have to...
China: Box Office
Latest statistic of the China box office shows that 3,527 screens worth 5.1 billion RMB. Sun bin believes that the bloom can even be bigger if the ticket fee is reduced by 30% in major cities.
Hong Kong: The Invisible Class
Henry porter comments on the newly released government budget report and points out the existence of an “invisible class”. Under the “winner takes the most, loser takes the rest” logic, the invisible class takes nothing (zh).
China: Suicide or Security Problem?
On Feb 17, a woman fell into the Guangzhou Metro track and killed. The police and company said that it was a suicide case but her family didn't believe the story and demanded further investigation. They believed her death was caused by the defect of the safety gate. The incident...
Vietnam: Hanoi in Winter
Experience the winter in Hanoi and neighboring places with Vietnamese God.
Japan: the First English Teacher
Peter Payne from Japundit traces the history of the first English Teacher in Japan.
Thailand: Thaksin's Passport
Bangkok Pundit looks the issues surrounding former Thai prime minister Thaksin's diplomatic passport. Thaksin is set to return to Thailand from his exile after he was overthrown in a coup back in 2006.
Trinidad & Tobago, Haiti, Jamaica: RIP Manno & Gibbs
Caribbean Beat Blog mourns the passing of two sons of the Caribbean soil – Haitian footballer Emmanuel “Manno” Sanon and Jamaican record producer, Joel “Joe” Gibbs.
China: Thoughts and debates on the name-calling professor
The start was in fact very simple. In 2007, Professor Zhong Hua at Sichuan Normal University issued an article entitled Cultural Studies and the Lost of Literary Theory in the 11th issue of “Literature and Art Studies”, one of the core academic journals in China, criticizing an academic work entitled...
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Land Lover
“It's time for us to concentrate more on growing what we eat even though far too many of us consider farming as something that the educated should steer away from”: Blogging from St. Vincent, Abeni advocates going back to the land.
Bermuda, Cayman Islands: Constitutional Change
Bermudan blogger Vexed Bermoothes, on learning that the Cayman Islands is updating its Constitution following “rigorous public consultation”, asks: “Are we just so used to corrupt governance that normalcy seems unusual?”
Jamaica: This and That
Jamaica and the World puts in her two cents’ worth on everything from a Minister being charged with fraud to the island's roller-coaster crime rate.
Jamaica: Both Sides Now
“We Jamaicans take the mountains, valleys, waterfalls — all for granted. And because we can't see those things with ‘outsider eyes’ we don't think deeply enough about how to share them with the world”: Francis Wade believes Jamaica is full of untapped potential.
