Stories from 29 April 2008
Haiti: Ideas on Development
Haitian blogger kiskeácity examines the concept of “measuring development as if people mattered more than places.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Roped Off?
Blogging from Trinidad & Tobago, Ramblings and Reason takes a look behind the velvet rope.
Bahamas: Educational Responsibility
“Remember, everyone we can save is one less who will have an opportunity to participate in crime”: Craig Butler at Bahama Pundit says that education is a collective responsibility.
Bermuda: Drunk Driving
As more road fatalities make the news, Bermuda Longtail says: “The message must be hammered home that drunk driving is unacceptable.”
Zimbabwe: Will Malawi clear Zimbabwe's arms?
Will Malawi clear Zimbabwe's arms?: “The Nyasa Times has this report today and it seems a lot more plausible to me than yesterday’s Hollywood-style information regarding Venezula…”
Guyana: Price of Rice
“Rice is the new pearl,” says Guyana-Gyal, as spiraling food prices make their impact.
Georgia: Parliamentary Election Digest
TOL Georgia reports on the latest developments in the run-up to next month's parliamentary election in Georgia. In the first of three posts, the blog comments on news that the country's parliamentary speaker, Nino Burjanadze, appears to have temporarily retired from active politics ahead of the vote. Meanwhile, the president's...
Armenia: Government U-Turn
Unzipped comments on news that the Armenian government has backed down in its attempts to prevent a congress by supporters of the former president and radical opposition leader from being staged in the capital, Yerevan. The u-turn happened after the organizers of the congress instead looked to Tbilisi, capital of...
Armenia: Sirusho in London
Unzipped: Gay Armenia reports on the visit to London by Armenia's entry to the Eurovision Song Contest, Sirusho. The blog notes that the young Armenian singer is one of the favorites to win the international song contest.
UK: Armenian Genocide March
Unzipped posts video, photographs and an account of a march staged by the London-Armenian community remembering the 1.5 million Armenians who died during the 1915 Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey. The blogger from Armenia now living in the United Kingdom says the march reminded him to some extent of the...
South Korea: Seoul Invaded by “The Ugly Chinese”
One free Korea described the pro-China Olympic torch protesters as invasion by “The Ugly Chinese”.
Korea: Torch Replay in Korea
Despite continual demonstrations by pro-Chinese and pro-Tibetan groups, the Torch Relay is almost at the end of its journey. It went through Korea. As in other countries, the fights of the two groups happened in the middle of Seoul. The violent actions from the Chinese groups and indifferent attitudes of...
Kazakhstan: Eurasian Media Forum
Arman opines on the Eurasian Media Forum, a large conference masterminded and organized by the Kazakhstan president’s elder daughter, Dariga Nazarbayeva.
Turkmenistan: Tatars Diaspora in Turkmenistran
Abdulgamid writes a post about a website, dedicated to the life of Tatar diaspora in Turkmenistan, an overwhelmingly mono-ethnic country.
Kyrgyzstan: Jazz Fest Photos
Elena presents the photographs from the second and third day of the International Jazz Festival in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.
Afghanistan: Karzai Lives to Rule Kabul for Another Day
Joshua Foust opines on the essense and consequences of the Taliban militants’ attack on Afghanistan president Karzai during the Mujahideen Day parade.
Afghanistan: A Battle of Will
Sanjar reflects on how long is the Afghan insurgency going to take and says that the war challenges the will of international community, the will of Afghans and finally the will of Taliban and insurgents.
Venezuela: Debates on the New Educational Curriculum
The Venezuelan government's new proposal for the elementary school education system has created a new point of debate in the country. While some say that the previous program needs to be reinforced in social and socialist values, as well as patriotic ideas, some others claim they're worried that this new system can be, above all, a new way of make children learn the government's doctrines. Bloggers provide their thoughts on the new proposals.
China: RMB Exchange Rate
YuLizheng wrote a long piece [zh] on the implication of the rise in RMB exchange rate on China economy. The blogger stressed that the property bubble, inflation and rise in currency are strong indicators of an economic crisis.
Bahrain: Remembering Samar Al Ansari
From Bahrain, Soul Search shares with us a touching tribute blog by a Bahrain mother in memory of her daughter, Samar Al Ansari, who was killed in a car crash in September 2006.
China and South Korea: Red Guards’ Gong Fu
Red Guard from tecn pointed out that the Olympic torch relay protest became an opportunity for Chinese to show off their Gong Fu. In the comment section, many commentators criticized that the Chinese protesters acted like red guards during the cultural revolution[zh].
