Stories from 14 November 2008
Jamaica: Leadership Roles
“Leadership has to be about prioritizing and making the unpopular decisions that may not help in getting you re-elected but will set the country on the right course for future growth and development”: Trevor Dawes at Abeng News Magazine wonders “why is it that the Jamaican government, regardless of which...
Japan: Street View and the Burakumin
The Internet, many would argue, has created the possibility for anyone to express their opinions freely. Recently, however, some have worried about an increase in the number of racist and denigrative comments against minorities spreading across the web. In Japan, the advent of Google's new Street View service has led some bloggers to discuss the relationship between areas photographed and discriminated communities.
Grenada: Sorrel Season
Grenada's Free Spirit writes a poem about making West Indian sorrel.
Georgia: Fox News and the War
The Tbilisi Blues comments on video footage of Fox News reporters fleeing what they describe as “Georgian forces firing at journalists” during the recent war with Russia. Tbilisi-based journalist Paul Rimple says that the news channel got it wrong.
China: The 3rd cabbies strike in 10 days. Now appeased.
After the cabbies strike in Chonqing in which about 9000 drivers participated and over 100 taxis and 3 police cars were smashed during the course, another taxi strike broke out on 10, Nov, in the southern tourism city Sanya. Though already appeased, does it simply mean a breath we can take before a larger storm is coming?
Hong Kong: Netizen's DIY Environmental Impact Assessment to Save Lung Mei
The Lung Mei （龍尾）Coastline is a natural muddy stretch at the eastern boundary of Ting Kok（汀角） Site of Special Scientific Interest (which is the fourth largest mangrove stand in Hong Kong). There are prolific biodiversity and ecological niches. Early last year, the Civil Engineering and Development Department put forward a...
Serbia: Barbie and Ken in National Dress
A Yankee-in-Belgrade writes that he has “seen many a Barbie and Ken in national dress of countries where I've traveled and now Serbia is no exception.”
U.S., Bosnia & Herzegovina: Adi Kunalic
Americans For Bosnia writes about Adi Kunalic, “a young Bosniak who came to America as a young boy in 1992 [and] found success in one of the most veritable and thoroughly American institutions our great land has to offer–college football.”
Serbia: Belgrade's Street Dogs
Cafe Turco writes about Belgrade's street dogs and animal rights.
Serbia: Nikola Kavaja
“Just like communism itself, Nikola Kavaja remains a controversial topic in the Serbian history,” writes Viktor Markovic of Belgraded.com about the man who made several unsuccessful attempts to eliminate Yugoslavia's leader Josip Broz Tito, including a 1979 hijacking of a U.S. passenger jet with the intention of crashing it into...
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Post-War Situation
An author of Foreign Policy Association's War Crimes blog writes that the war that occurred in Bosnia and Herzegovina 15 years ago still “feels recent” and that “Bosnia is not taking major steps to diminish tensions by integrating communities”: “Education and politics are both segregated, so children don’t necessarily make...
The Balkans: Srebrenica Roundup
Sarah Franco of Cafe Turco writes about the award-winning film on Srebrenica genocide – Resolution 819. Srebrenica Genocide Blog posts the full text of the U.N. Security Council Resolution 819 (1993) – which, among other things, demanded “the immediate cessation of armed attacks by Bosnian Serb paramilitary units against Srebrenica”...
Serbia: Reflections of a Bosnian Refugee
27-year-old Amila Jašarević fled Bosnia & Herzegovina in 1993 and has since been living in Denmark. On her blog, Amila Bosnae, she describes her first visit to Serbia: “Although our hosts from the different Serbian NGOs did whatever they could to make us comfortable, there was nothing they could do...
Russia: 65 Years Since the Deportation of Karachais
Otto's Random Thoughts writes – here and here – about the deportation of the Karachais, which began on Nov. 2 sixty-five years ago.
Croatia: EU Membership and Democratization
The 8th Circle examines Croatia's efforts to combat crime and corruption on the way to EU membership.
Romania: Elections and Gazprom
Kosmopolito writes that in Romania, “[t]he fight against corruption is ongoing and is progressing according to schedule: endless” – and as the country prepares for the parliamentary election on Nov. 30, “[m]ost likely it will not vote”: “Those who will vote, will have to choose pretty much the same thing....
Indonesia: Reflections on poverty
Thomas Belfield writes about the subject of poverty in Indonesia. He points out that “It is time for a new paradigm. It is time for impatient action.”
Vietnam: British Ambassador is also a blogger
British Ambassador to Vietnam, Mark Kent, started blogging last September. The blog is published in Vietnamese so that it can reach more people in the country.
Vietnam: Dog food
This is not for dog lovers. ABP Photo uploads pictures of a dog in Vietnam which was slaughtered so that it can be served for dinner.
Thailand: Bomb blast in market
A bomb blast in a Bangkok market wounded 13 persons. The victims were market vendors who were protesting the new rental contracts of the market. The blast seems to be connected to a commercial dispute between the old and new owners of the market.
Worker killed by tigers at Singapore zoo
A Malaysian worker was killed by tigers at the popular Singapore zoo.
