Stories from 24 November 2008
Belarus: Change of Course in Minsk
Osteuropablog draws attention to [GER] a gradual change of policies in Minsk – economic liberalisation, EU-rapprochement, and new approaches to legitimising political power.
The Yellow Humvee Saga – A conclusion.
Nick Wadhams was able to categorically identify the owner of the yellow hummer mentioned by GV in the post on yellow humvees and the UN procurement scandal. He posts a conclusion to the BYH saga on his blog.
Latin American Bloggers jump into Reality Television
Chevrolet and NatGeo have launched a reality show that mixes driving, tourism, gadgets and blogging throughout South America. On The Road Again follows 6 bloggers in 6 different countries, driving around, taking tours and documenting their experiences through streaming video, blog posts and pictures, and it will later on be featured on a NatGeo channel show.
Kenya: Save The Mau Forest!
Kenya's Mau Forest is one of the largest indigenous forests in East Africa, and it is under threat from slashing, burning (for charcoal) and illegal settlement. Some background on the issues at play is available on this link from Africa Science News. Bloggers are making note of the deteriorating situation...
India: The Next Prime Minister
Sandeep Bansal at Desicritics takes a look at the possible candidates of the next Prime Minister of India.
Pakistan: Lahore Bloggers Meet
Light Within posts a review of today's Lahore Bloggers’ Meet including pictures. CIO Pakistan has links to live blogs, twitters and videos covering the meet.
Environment: SA Bloggers sound off on GMO foods.
Genetically Modified foods have been a concern for many environment bloggers in South Africa and other parts of Africa too. On this post we check in a handful of bloggers who've recently written about genetically modified (GMO) foods and seed. Picture by Vagawi on flickr UrbanSprout points to a report...
Michael Jackson ‘Converts’ to Islam
The King of Pop Michael Jackson has done it again and stories about his alleged conversion to Islam are keeping blogs in the Middle East abuzz with snark comments. Is Jackson's conversion a part of an American conspiracy "to destroy Islam from within," is it a media stunt or has he finally found his true calling?
Nicaragua: The Growing Blogosphere Through Collaboration
The Nicaraguan blogosphere has been growing thanks to collaboration between various bloggers and users of Twitter. This is a short interview with Alvaro Berroteran, who started a project called Nicaragua y Su Blog, which has been promoting Nicaraguan blogs. He is also working with others to establish a new blog community site and Facebook group.
Bangladesh: Manipuri Raash Festival
Back to Bangladesh posts some great pictures of the colorful Raash festival of the Manipuri indigenous people of Sylhet in Bangladesh. The festival is meant to celebrate the love of Radha and Krishna.
Syria: A Blogosphere Divided
The Syrian blogsphere has been embroiled in a heated debate over the weekend. It is a debate that is quite reflective of some of our modern disagreements as Syrians, over a wide range of basic issues: identity, religion, state and personal freedom. Yazan Badran gathers the different threads of this controversy here.
China: Citizen reporter Zuola becomes a potential threat to state security?!
Three days ago, on Nov 20th, Zuola sent out a twitter message reporting that he could not get through the Customs from Shenzhen to Hong Kong: I can't get in Hongkong, not allow me leave from China, I don't konw why. And I call somebody for ask help. May be...
Jordan: The Queen's Vlog, Internet Socio-Economics and More
In today's review of the Jordanian blogosphere, Mohammad Azraq links to posts celebrating Queen Rania's latest Vlog, the socio-economic implications of a faster Internet, a new idea for social networking, and a competition open for Jordanians to vote for their favourite city logos and icons.
Trinidad & Tobago: Belt-Tightening
About seven months after the global food crisis was showing up on people's radar and two months after the global financial crisis made headlines, Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister decided that the time was right to address the nation regarding the state of the economy. The money quote of the speech was "Tighten your belts" - and bloggers have had a lot to say about the subject.
Egypt: First Human Rights Film Festival
Seven films about human rights are being showcased at the first Cairo Human Rights Film Festival, which continues until Thursday (November 27). Marwa Rakha previews blogger reactions on the event.
Cuba: Hurricane Aftermath
Generation Y takes a road trip to Cuba's Pinar del Rio and is even more convinced that “we have to avoid letting our tendency to forget cover up the situation…we have to go to the affected areas, deliver aid directly, and record the testimonies there. The hurricane-force winds are still...
Haiti, U.S.A.: Changing Times
jmc strategies, on learning that Haitian-American Patrick Gaspard is pegged to become Obama's White House Political Director, says: “Congratulations are in order for a young man who has achieved much and deserves much. Times have indeed changed in America.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Carnival Sins
Trinidad Carnival Diary blogs about the 7 deadly sins of Carnival bands.
Cuba: Brother to be Beatified
Uncommon Sense reports that a 19th century Cuban Brother is being beatified by the Catholic Church: “Br. Ollalo’s beatification will take place at 8 a.m. on November 29 in the Plaza de la Caridad of Camaguey, Cuba. It will be the first beatification to ever take place on Cuban soil.”
Barbados: Bus Crash
Barbados Free Press reports on a bus crash that left dozens injured, saying: “Just like the other major bus and auto crashes during the past three years our Barbados police do not have the breathalizer equipment or laws that would show if any of the drivers had been drinking.”
Jamaica: Political Will
“There has been a lot of talk recently of the Government's inabilty to curb the massive escalation of murders, kidnappings and other crimes in Jamaica”: Abeng News Magazine‘s John Fagan says that “the whole system is in chaos” and “it will take political will to fix it.”
