Stories from 22 January 2009
India: Restricting Basmati Rice Exports
The Acorn points out the absurdity of restricting premium Basmati rice exports from India by imposing tax.
Armenia-Turkey: Genocide Historian Responds
My The Caucasian Knot details and comments on attempts by one group in the U.S.-Armenian Diaspora to silence a prominent Genocide historian. Coinciding with the second memorial of Hrant Dink's murder in Istanbul, Ara Sarafian was quoted by the Turkish media as saying it was ironic that many Armenians seeking...
Nigeria: Calabar Carnival
In case you missed news about the famous Calabar Carnival in Nigeria, Ladybrille has an update. Calabar is “city known for its tourism [international museum, botanical garadens], culinary skills, beautiful women and very pristine/eco-friendly people and environment, Calabar serves as the capital of Cross River State.”
Belarus: “Image Is All”
Catherine Reilly's piece on Belarus – at OpenDemocracy.net (more Belarus stories by the same author – here).
Guyana: Dirty Laundry?
The new President of the United States is the Caribbean's darling, but the President of Guyana is having a tougher time of it. The latest controversy to plague him comes in the form of his ex-wife spilling the beans about their stormy personal relationship and Mr. Jagdeo's alleged failure to provide her with a divorce settlement. Bloggers, of course, are all over the story...
Bolivia: The Situation After the Referendum
The campaign for the Constitutional Referendum has ended across Bolivia and Sunday's vote is eagerly awaited. After months of a tension-filled campaign from both supporters and opponents of the draft Constitution, many are left wondering what will happen after the vote. Some other bloggers reflect on some of the problems that will still remain regardless of the vote's outcome and who is to blame for the country's predicament.
Serbia: 250 Dogs
A Yankee-in-Belgrade introduces Katja, a woman who “lives on a strip of land about 12 x 80 meters (approx. 39 x 263 feet) outside of Belgrade with over 250 dogs that she cares for by herself and with the help of a few occasional volunteers.”
Trinidad & Tobago: The Fourth Summit of the Peoples
Trinidad and Tobago sees the launch of a new blog about “the upcoming fourth Summit of the Peoples, the alternative to the fifth installment of the Summit of the Americas conferences…where emerging…voices from the Caribbean—farmers and fisherfolk, anti-smelter and gender activists—can connect with themselves and others across the globe, and...
Cuba: Quelling the Rumours
Child of the Revolution confirms that recent rumours of Fidel Castro's demise have been just that – thanks to reports from Havana that the president of Argentina met with him on the last day of her visit to the island.
Conservation Through People
The core of conservation is the people who live adjacent to or inside conservation areas. It has therefore always been the goal of forward thinking conservationists to involve the local communities that surround the conservation areas that are under their charge. In Lubumbashi, DR of Congo, a chimpanzee rescue center,...
Haiti, U.S.A.: Retro Rhetoric?
The Haitian Blogger takes issue with some of the content of Barack Obama's inaugural speech, calling it “reminiscent of his predecessor”: “I wonder when the ‘West’ will accept some of the blame for the ill will that it has garnered for its actions in the global south and in the...
Trinidad & Tobago, Bahamas: Start at Home
While Alien in the Caribbean [Trinidad & Tobago] encourages those with dysfunctional families to finally break free, Doing Theology from the Caribbean [Bahamas] suggests that peacemaking begins at home.
Barbados: Oil Rights
Keltruth Corp. is worried about the fact that Barbados has awarded its first offshore oil-exploration rights: “If there is a substantial oil discovery off Barbados, tremendous sums of money will change hands. Who will benefit? Unfortunately with no rules, all we can do is sit back, and blindly trust the...
Armenia: Musings
Ara Balozian continues to ponder life, the universe and everything on his blog, Ara Home Page. In his two latest posts, the controversial independent writer and thinker considers what it is to be Armenian and contemplates the Armenian view of history.
Taiwan: Joyful Tibetan, finally
dino.utopia, a citizen journalist from Peopo, published a video clip of a party about how exile Tibetans in Taiwan use dances and musics to thank everyone who had helped them get official permit of residence and work. Before this positive outcome, they had a sit-in movement at the Liberty Square lasting for more than a month.(zh)
China: Hakka Tulou in Fujian Province
Steve from Fool's Mountain explains the distinctive character of Hakka Tulou (a very special architecture for defense) in Fujian Province.
China: How to tell a RMB 100 fake note?
Rob on Black and White cat teaches you how to differentiate a fake RMB 100 note. It is very helpful as a large amount of fake notes has been circulating in the market.
China: Active Consumption is Patriotic
Joel Martinsen from DANWEI translated local discussion about the relation between consumption and patriotism.
Madagascar: Major Damages from Tropical Storm Eric & Cyclone Fanele
In the past days, Madagascar has been sandwiched between both Tropical Storm Eric and Cyclone Fanele. Considering that last year's cyclone season was particularly deadly, bloggers in Madagascar are weary of the consequences of such natural disasters. Despite growing political tension, many of them reacted promptly to share their thoughts on what seems to be another series of damaging catastrophes.
Support Global Voices: Win a ROFLCon Ticket
If you're a fan of everything on the internet that makes you “roll on the floor laughing” (ROFL) you're probably familiar with several of the invitees to ROFLCon's party in New York on January 24, 2009, like The Tron Guy, Obama Girl, and the owner of Sockington (the Twittering cat). Tickets to “ROFLThing” are sold out, but by bidding on one of the last five tickets right now, you can help support Global Voices.
Bolivia: Community Tourism in Copacabana
Cristina Quisbert of Bolivia Indigena [es] posts a video of a ceremony of the inauguration of a community tourism information center in Copacabana, Bolivia.
