Stories from 1 October 2008
Brazil: Do deforestation and elections mix?
What is the link between recent deforestation rate increases in the Amazon and the upcoming Brazilian municipal elections in October 5?
Running Away from Marriage: A Story From Syria
American Fulbright scholar in Damascus Orientalista brings up the story of her Syrian friend Manar, a 22-year old female from the Druze minority in the country, who ran away from her house to escape a forced marriage.
Palestine: Frequent Words
Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah shows his readers the words he frequently uses on his blog.
Kuwait: Earthquake and Tsunami Warnings
From Kuwait, Intlxpatr links to a news story which warns of powerful earthquakes in the Strait of Hormuz, which could result in a devastating tsunami.
Lesotho: Creating electricity from wind turbine
Andrew is trying to create his own electricity in Lesotho: “To bring real electricity we needed bigger 12v batteries. I got one, and the priest has one. The batteries are nice, but my little solar panel is just too small to give them a good charge. That is why we...
Palestine: Fatah and Hamas take their fight into schools
August 24 should have seen the start of classes for pupils in Gaza’s government schools, but instead it was the beginning of a week-long strike called by the Fatah-led teachers’ union protesting the interference of Hamas in education. In this post, one blogger, a school pupil himself, gives us his perspective on the political fight getting in the way of his education.
Madagascar: Solar power for rural clinics
Noel blogs about the use of solar power in rural clinics in Madagascar: “Solar power has been given to these clinics four years ago and people have become very thankful. After all, rural clinics in the country actually do see around 400 patients each month. That’s a huge amount of...
Bahrain: The other side of Eid
Bahraini blogger Cookie hates Eid, for one because it gives family members a chance to catch you and settle old scores; she says, “Prepare your speech of revenge with your clothes.”
Sierra Leone: One year and counting…
It has been one year now since last year’s elections in Sierra Leone. Nasratha tries to assess the differences between the new and the old regime.
Nepal: The China Policy
China offered Rs.100 million as military assistance to Nepal's new government and this has created a lot of commotion in their political arena and is also having adverse effect on Nepal's relationship with India. Maila Baje at Nepali Notebook has details.
Pakistan: Classification of beggers
Asim Kh at Lahore Met Blogs classifies beggers of Lahore and lists them.
India: Ready for software as a service?
Shyam of Venture Woods asks whether India is ready for software as a service.
India: History blogging carnival
Varnam posts the ‘Ninth Indian History Carnival’ which contains links to seven great blog posts on Indian history.
Bangladesh: Unreasonable demand
Syed ABM Ashrafuzzaman slams Bangladeshi politicians who demand withdrawal of “cases” against the political leaders and comments: “Let our leaders like Shekh Hasina and Khaleda Zia set personal examples by fighting the cases filed against them in the court of law.”
Habemus Guatemalan Cinema! Gasolina, Best Latin American Movie
Gasolina, a Guatemalan film directed by Julio Cordon, won Best Latin American Movie in San Sebastian Film Festival, capturing a post conflict society, quite different from the pictures in the newspapers and far more complex. Bloggers and artists are sharing this triumph, proudly sharing the city and their urban stories with many people in the world.
Palestine: About Sunnis and Shias
Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah discusses the Islamic Sunni and Shia sects in this post.
Caribbean: Celebrating Eid
Eid Mubarak! Muslims across the world are today celebrating Eid ul-Fitr, the holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting - and the Caribbean is no exception.
Syria: Celebrating Bach
Prometheus, [Ar] from Syria, introduces his readers to his favourite composer – Johann Sebastian Bach.
Cuba: To Catch a Thief
“With Gustav and Ike, Cuba’s proven civil defense system once again demonstrated how well Cubans can organize. Despite the hurricanes’ enormous destruction, only seven people died. However, the storms have greatly magnified the shortcomings in the island’s economy…” Circles Robinson thinks that one of those shortcomings is workplace theft.
Korea: From Hero to Eccentric Man
In 2004 a student, Kang Ui-seok, was expelled from Daegwang High School for disobeying an order to attend chapel service at the school. He filed a petition with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea and went on a hunger strike that lasted 36 days to urge the school to...
Barbados: Integrity Act
Barbados Underground gives an update on the drafting of “the long awaited Integrity and Freedom of Information Act”.
