Stories from 4 March 2009
Haiti: Restavec
My Life, an Open Book… says that “the constant vie for power makes for a disastrous recipe” when it comes to Haiti's practice of Restavec.
Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados: Carnival 2009
Living in Barbados, Alien in the Caribbean and Discover TnT Blog all post their impressions of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival 2009.
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Attack in Pakistan
Blogging from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Abeni is horrified by the news of the attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers, saying: “The cricketing terrorism that I know is usually some team inflicting blows on another. Then the weapons of choice are usually a red shiny ball and a wooden...
Trinidad & Tobago: Farewell, Tito
de cooler : soca news acknowledges the passing of “the famous cuatro player and parang singer Tito Lara” from Trinidad and Tobago.
Cuba: Making Changes
Generation Y says of the recent changes in Cuba's Council of State and Ministers: “Changing the instruments doesn’t mean much, if the symphony being performed, and the director of the orchestra, are the same as before.”
Jamaica: Self-Esteem
Jamaican blogger/writer Geoffrey Philp gives kids a valuable lesson in self-esteem.
China: Youtube blocked
Aw Guo reported that Youtube is blocked in China. The blogger confirmed the situation with his twitter friends.
Japan: The end of Bloomberg TV in Japanese
Kawase Madoka (為替 円) expresses surprised [ja] at the halt of Bloomberg Television's Japanese channel starting from the 30th of April. The blogger, who participated several times in seminars organized by Bloomberg, and who used to follow with enthusiasm the morning news, is sorry to learn about the end of...
Blogging Positively: Live Chat about HIV/AIDS on March 6
Rising Voices and Global Voices are holding a live online chat for bloggers and activists on Friday March 6, 2009 (5 pm Nairobi time) on how to use blogging to help improve awareness and information about HIV/AIDS.
Israel: Negotiating a Prisoner Exchange for Gilad Shalit
Three years ago, Palestinian militants captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in a cross-border raid. Despite numerous diplomatic attempts to earn Shalit's release, the 22-year old remains in Hamas custody. In exchange for his freedom, Hamas demands the release of 1,400 Palestinians currently held in Israeli jails while Israel says Shalit's release is a pre-condition for a ceasefire, writes Maya Norton, who reviews the reactions of Israeli bloggers towards this deal.
Israel: Triumphant Week for Israeli Women
What a week it was for Israeli women, Afternoon Tea in Jerusalem observes. Tzipi Livni won the elections, singer Hila Pitman landed a Grammy, supermodel Bar Rafaeli was chosen as Sport Illustrated's swimsuit edition cover girl, and a Jewish-Muslim duo were chosen to represent the nation at the Eurovision song...
China: Industrial Towns in Southern China
David from Silk Road International depicts the threatening situation in industrial areas outside of Shenzhen due to unemployment.
Belarus, Ireland: “Minsk, Russia” at Dublin Airport
Andrei Khrapavitski re-posts a photo taken by LJ user barilotti (BEL) at the Dublin Airport: an info poster there lists Minsk, the capital of Belarus, as part of Russia. “How about hanging a map of Europe with Ireland marked as part of the United Kingdom?” comments Khrapavitski.
Ukraine: Deposit Exchange
IZO writes about Deposit Exchange, a crisis-related new venture launched in Ukraine: “It enables people whose bank deposits have been frozen in banks of questionable solvency to sell the money in those deposits at a discount. The buyers of the frozen deposits, although they cannot withdraw the money, can use...
Serbia: “Bus Kontrol!”
Radovan Jelani of Belgrade Journals writes about ticket “controllers” on Belgrade's public transportation.
Ukraine: “Is it Ill-Bred to Have Fun in Museums?”
Thoughts on the Ukrainian approach to museum-going – at The Uncataloged Museum: “When I was asked by a reporter how museums were different, I mentioned the fact that in the US, and in many Western European countries as well, that museum-going was thought of as a fun activity. […] The...
Ukraine: Imaginary “Tweets”
Michelle Knisley of Greetings From Kyiv imagines herself “twittering” her daily routine in Ukraine's capital: “[…] 9:09: Just missed getting run over by a car on the sidewalk 9:15: Ice fell from the building but it missed me […]”
Czech Republic: Internet Outage
CzechFolks.com writes about “a careless but simple mistake” made by “an employee of an Internet service provider company SuproNet in Uhersky Brod,” which “caused an Internet outage mostly in Spain, Belgium, New Zealand, Egypt, China, and the USA.”
Slovenia: 100 Days of Pahor's Government
Sleeping With Pengovsky writes about the first 100 days of Borut Pahor’s government.
Slovenia: “The Erased”
Dr. Filomena writes in detail about the case of Slovenia's “erased” population.
Ukraine: Çelebicihan's Death Anniversary
Window on Eurasia writes about the 91st anniversary of the murder of Numan Çelebicihan, a Crimean Tatar leader – and the recent assault of a Crimean Tatar family by Ukrainian riot police.
