Stories from 14 October 2008
Azerbaijan: Election Eve
Herron Family News reports from Azerbaijan on the eve of tomorrow's presidential election. The blog says that interest in the vote is low and the level of campaigning activity was meager. However, it says that plans to install webcams in polling stations did see the light of day although currently...
Trinidad & Tobago: Down in the Valley
“The warnings are there, too many to ignore…people better start waking up. Better rebuild their community parlours and their sou sous and their gayaps. In the panic of markets and the trillions of debt and the excess of luxury, countries like Trinidad and Tobago…with so much for sale, will suffer...
Cuba: Imprisoned
Diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense calls Cuba the “concentration camp of the Caribbean”, while Havana-based Generation Y blogs about the rise of prices on the informal food market, saying: “These days, chanting ‘Eeee-eeeggs’ may be more dangerous than chanting anti-government slogans. OK, let’s not exaggerate, opinion has always been punished more.”
Barbados: Blogging Politics
Barbados Underground predicts that “the Internet ‘will’ have a greater impact on the next Barbados General Election than it did on the last.”
Sri Lanka: Getting out of the global recession
Serendipity has some recommendations – how to manage the global recessions in Sri Lanka with minimal impact.
Georgia: Peace Corps Volunteer Blogs
Although Georgia was not the first country in the South Caucasus where the U.S. Peace Corps started working, it was until recently the most active in terms of blogs. However, the situation has changed considerably since war with Russia saw volunteers evacuated to Armenia with no prospect for return.
Barbados: Finanical Fallout?
Living in Barbados suggests that “once all the financial dust has started to settle there will be a very different world of international finance, with most of the world's major banks owned or largely controlled by the State.”
Pakistan: Choices in an arranged marriage
The view from behind my specs… shares some hilarious moments showing how the matter of silly choices can dictate the proceeding of an arranged marriage in Pakistan.
Grenada: Artefact
“It is not unusual, during the course of a morning, as we weed or mole or fork the land, for us to unearth some pottery shard or rusted garden implement from long ago”: Grenada's Free Spirit finds an unexpected treasure from the 1800s.
Bangladesh: Consequences of military rule
Brigadier General (Retd) Syed ABM Ashrafuzzaman shades some light to the background of the military rules in Bangladesh and the frustrations the armed forces personnel face as they realize their contributions and devotion bears no fruit and appreciation from the politicians and bureaucrats.
India-USA Relationship Enters A New Era
Earlier this month the US government lifted its 30 year moratorium on nuclear trade with India. US President Bush signed a bill that allows US assistance to India's civilian nuclear energy program and in return India will allow its nuclear facilities for inspection by International Atomic Energy Association. Riding the...
Uruguay: Free Virtual Library of More than 1500 Books
The government of Uruguay received a donation from the government of Spain of a virtual library containing nearly 1500 titles. Any citizen can take a blank CD into their local departmental office and can receive a burned copy of the e-books. Tan Conectados [es] is looking for a complete online...
Ecuador: Residents Mourn the Death of Chelito the Giraffe
Ecuador is well-known for its biodiversity and boasts many species of interesting plants and animals. However, there is one beloved animal that is not native to the country, and residents of Loja are mourning its recent death. A giraffe named “Chelito” was found dead near his pen in the Loja zoo. One of the region's most recognizable tourist attractions, Chelito was the only giraffe in Ecuador and was proud symbol for residents of all ages.
Macau: Netizen charged for reporting on Bank Run
A school teacher passed through a bank in Macau where a group of people were trying to withdraw all their money in fear of the financial crisis. At home, he wrote his brief reflections on what he saw in an online forum, only to be charged by the police for "fabricating dangerous information", and later to be sued by the bank for criminal libel.
Afghanistan: “Bad Taliban, good Taliban”
Afghan blogger and journalist, Baktash Siawash, writes [fa] that UK wants to make a deal with Taliban but the USA considers to negotiate with “good Taliban” and fight with “bad ones”.
China: Text Messages on Sanlu
Shenzhen Fieldnotes translates some mobile text messages on the Sanlu poisonous milk scandal.
China: A visit to one of Beijing’s ‘black jails’
Black and white cat translated three blog posts on local bloggers’ flash mob visit to one of Beijing's “black jails” (detention center for petitioners).
Hong Kong: Yahoo falls to GFW?
Recently netizens found out the photo search function of HK Yahoo! has been filtered / re-indexed. Some netizens were worried that such practice is the beginning of political censorship. Ben Crox follows through the discussion in his blog post.
China: The Rumor Monger Jia Xiaoyin
ESWN translated an article from Southern Metropolis Weekly about the rumor monger Jia Xiaoyin, an university student who fabricated the intension of Yang Jia's act in killing the cops in Shanghai.
Russia: “Dmitry Medvideo”
Foreign Policy Association's Russia blog comments on the launch of president Dmitry Medvedev's video blog.
Russia: Mozhaisk Women's Colony
Grigory Pasko visits Mozhaisk women’s prison colony and writes at Robert Amsterdam's blog about “what a women’s colony in today’s Russia is like and what is a ‘house of the child’ in this colony.”