Stories from 19 March 2008
Sri Lanka: Arthur C Clarke
Gallicissa on the death of Arthur C Clarke – who lived in Sri Lanka from 1956 till his death in 2008.
Bangladesh: The promise of America
Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying writes on the promise of America as articulated by Obama.
D.R. of Congo: Radio Okapi journalist wins blog award
Congolese journalist Cédric Kalonji [Fr] wins a “Bobs” award for best francophone blog.
D.R. of Congo: Kabila says Congolese people are better off today
Le Blog du Congolais comments on President Kabila's perplexing enthusiasm [Fr] about the state of Congo. During the opening of a new parliamentary session, Kabila said the Congolese people “are better off than they were a year ago, and far better than they were fifteen years ago.”
China: Black Days for the Dalai Lama
China matters gave more background to the Lhasa uprising and showed that the Dalai Lama, a moderate spiritual leader, has been marginalized both by the Chinese government conspiracy and hard hand approach.
China: Patriotism triggered, though under censorship
A brief record of the Chinese public opinion on Tibet unrest. Attention: they are all found inside the Great Firewall. But I believe they stand for a considerable part of us Chinese. Their information sources on which they judge and think might be filtered, but don’t laugh at that---- before the time tells what’s true, you might also be manipulated!
Kyrgyzstan: LBGT community video answer to Russian Orthodox Church´s homophobic comments.
The videocast created by the LBGT community's Labrys organization in Kyrgyzstan in response to homophobic Russian Orthodox Church's statements and which was viewed more than 409 times within the first 15 hours of being uploaded has been dubbed and subtitled into English.
Bermuda: Going Green
A Radical in Bermuda shares some tips for going green.
Burkina Faso: Meningitis, mask dances and a special horse festival
Burkina Faso is the diamond stud near the middle of Africa’s meningitis belt, stretching from Senegal to Ethiopia, containing a population of roughly 300 people. The region’s dusty winds and relatively cool nights from December to June decreases peoples’ immunity to respiratory problems. This, along with the area’s high population density adds up to make bacterial meningitis “hyperendemic” to this area.
Azerbaijan: The Nicer Side of Baku
Lindsay Fincher says that contrary to popular opinion of the Azerbaijani capital as one of the dirtiest cities in the world, it isn't just oil workers interested in visiting. The blogger says that she actually found her own stay somewhat interesting.
Armenia: Volunteerism
My Stay in Armenia recounts a recent visit to a school where the International Red Cross educated children on humanitarian work and volunteerism. The blog says that the latter in particular remains something “foreign” for most people in the country.
Armenia: The Epic Land
Deep Roasted Blend posts a guide for tourists interested in visiting Armenia. The guide, accompanied by many photographs, was written by Rhyne from The Armenia Blog.
Armenia: Shameful Diaspora
Unzipped expresses its concern with statements issued by ethnic Armenian groups and organizations in the United States calling for political forces to find a peaceful solution to the post-election standoff in Armenia and to refrain from violence. Noticeable by its absence, the blog explains, are calls for an independent inquiry...
Armenia: Right to Know
Armenia Now reports on the current state of emergency which restricts the media in covering the post-election situation in the country following the 1 March clashes between opposition supporters and the authorities. The blog says that while the print media has become more independent under the outgoing president, the tendency...
Kyrgyzstan: Fed up with protests?
Kyrgyz bloggers have been actively elaborating on the Kyrgyz government's initiative to make March 24 – the day of popular uprising in 2005 – a national holiday. The amendment was made to the Kyrgyz Labor Code, according to which from now on March 24 will be officially celebrated as a...
Environment: Beijing's Green Olympics
From the blog Its Getting Hot in here, we get an answer by a Chinese Professor to the following question on Bejing’s Green Olympics: “What will it take to keep Beijing on the right track once they have finished preparing for the Olympics and the international community is no longer...
Environment: 14 elephants speared in Amboseli, Kenya
Richard Leakey of Wildlife Direct alerts readers to a disturbing occurrence at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya. 14 elephants speared in Amboseli: “…The range of causes of elephant spearing are complex enough — revenge, political protest, self- or crop-protection, delinquency, and, to a lesser extent in Amboseli at least,...
Kyrgyzstan: Youth Is Flashmobbing in Protest
Azamat offers a photo-report on the flash-mob organized by youth activists against the Kyrgyz government. They put on masks of sheep and one of them put a mask of a bull and wore boxing gloves, representing the ruling party and the president of Kyrgyzstan.
Kazakhstan: Turkish Saga Continued
Zhanna Zhukova reports on unexpected continuation of the story around the attack on Turkish construction company’s workers in Almaty, as Turkish side accuses the Kazakh president’s relatives of raider attack and illegal pressure.
Tajikistan: Opposition Rallies in the Southern City
Vadim reports that another rally in Khorog to be organized by Social Democratic Party of Tajikistan, demanding restrictiion of the president's power and fight against corruption.
Environment: China's Challenges from pollution to severe storms
Dale Wen, writing on China Dialogue looks at the myth that high income lifestyles in the west come with a clean environment; noting that China needs to rethink its development model The (impossible) American dream: “Exporting pollution” In the past few decades the environmental movement has achieved a number of...