Stories from 8 September 2009
Global Voices Bloggers Mentor New Danish and African Bloggers
Emails have begun to fly this week between 31 Global Voices mentors and 31 participants in a newly launched educational program in Copenhagen, Denmark called Global Change.
Egypt: Two Coptic Orthodox Church Channels
After a series of failed attempts to launch a television channel for the Coptic faith in Egypt over the past 15 years, two channels were authorized and four more are in the pipeline.
Egypt: US “Activist” Travis Randall Deported
American journalist Travis Randall has been denied entry to Egypt and then deported. Bloggers react to his treatment in this round up of posts by Marwa Rakha.
Pakistan: Martyr Certificate
“I can’t aggregate words to describe what this image says. It is a Martyr Certificate” exclaims Pak Factor after posting an image of the martyr certificate awarded by Tehrik-i-Taliban to a person from South Waziristan, who died during an insurgency.
Pakistan: Illegal Number Plates
Naeem Sadiq at All Things Paksitan brings up the issue of an increasing irregularity in Karachi, Pakistan where many cars are carrying illegal number plates and the authority is doing nothing to stop this practice.
Afghanistan: Conversation with soldier
Captain's Cat, an aid worker in Gardez City, posts a conversation with a young American soldier, where he expresses exasperation at the way Afghan culture works, and admits he only joined the Army to pay for college.
Afghanistan: Animal House in Kabul
Tim Lynch, an American security contractor in Afghanistan, used to work with the now-fired security guards at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. He says: “The problem with the current guard force is that they are on a sh** contract. Ignore the money value published in the papers – that number...
Bahamas: International Literacy Day
Bahamian bloggers Womanish Words and tings mash dedicate their posts to the marking of UNESCO’s International Literacy Day.
Trinidad & Tobago: Budget Comments
“It really didn't say much and didn't seem attached to a reality where citizens of the country exist”: KnowProSE.com posts some general impressions of Trinidad and Tobago's 2009-2010 Budget, while kid5rivers says of the TT$7.7 billion shortfall: “Such shortfalls…are really debts to be repaid by future generations…”
Barbados: Hearings on Tourist Murder Begin
As the preliminary hearing into the murder of tourist Terry Schwarzfeld begins (to no local press coverage), Barbados Free Press says it is a “poor show all around by our police, government and tourism authorities.”
Bermuda: Gambling Shooting
As a Bermudian man fights for his life after being shot at a gambling event, Catch a fire, who is “particularly concerned about the prevalance of organised gambling”, also acknowledges the bigger issue: “We currently live in an increasingly atomistic society, a collection of households rather than a neighbourhood, workers...
Jamaica: Drugs & Politics
Jamaica Salt and Letter from Jamaica blog about a move by the United States to extradite local Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke on alleged drug and ammunition trafficking charges.
Venezuela: Another Miss Universe Crown
Miss Venezuela was selected as winner of the 2009 Miss Universe beauty pageant. Even though many Venezuelans are proud of the accomplishment, some bloggers question what this says about their own society.
Taiwan: Pheasant-tailed Jacana struggles for survival
Typhoon Morakot damaged a reserve for the Pheasant-tailed Jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus) in Tainan County. Stop Hushan Dam! writes about the challenges the birds face to survive.
Kazakhstan: Lenin. More Alive Than the Living
Two similar messages have entered the Kazakh blogosphere from opposite ends of the country. They both talk about the revival of one symbol of a bygone era: head-and-shoulders statues of Lenin.
China: Wal-Mart Workers Beat Customer To Death
ESWN translated a local news story about 5-6 a 37-year old woman customer beaten to death by 5-6 Wal-Mart workers in Jingdezhen plaze, at Jiansi province.
Uzbekistan: Decay of the Uzbek hospitals
Neweurasia provides a photo-post about the disastrous decay of a once-famous hospital for tuberculosis patients in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.
Tajikistan: Controversy over state company's audit
Salimjon says that IMF Office in Tajikistan preferred to keep the results of the audits on Barqi Tojik, the national state energy company, and Talco, the national aluminum company, confidential, despite numerous problems in accounting and bookkeeping.
Afghanistan: Mystery of the missing opium crop
Nick Fielding tries to understand why and how, according to the Afghan Opium Survey from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime report, the bottom is starting to fall out of the Afghan opium market with opium cultivation down 22%, production down by 10% and prices at a ten-year low.
Afghanistan: Contractors and warfare
Nick Fielding analyzes the Congressional Research Service report on contractors in Afghanistan and notes that there are some fascinating material on the economic shape of modern warfare.
Kazakhstan: OSCE Leadership and Increased Autocracy
Joshua Foust points out a recent series of human rights violations and arbitrary prosecution in Kazakhstan and says that the OSCE Chairmanship has become a cover for worse repression than before.
