Stories from 5 February 2010
Jamaica, Caribbean: Tributes to Rex Nettleford, 1933-2010
The late Rex Nettleford — scholar, dancer, choreographer — who died on 2 February, was a cultural icon in Jamaica and elsewhere in the Caribbean. Bloggers pay tribute to "a quintessential Caribbean man" and consider his intellectual legacy.
Argentina: The Controversy Over Ex-President Kirchner's Purchase of Currency
The recent news about the purchase of two million dollars by the former President Néstor Kirchner back in October 2008, at a time when the international financial crisis was beginning, has generated a lot of impact in the media, blogs, and social networks
Pakistan: Beware Of The Nationalist Campaign
Sana Saleem at Mystified Justice comments on ‘Wake Up Pakistan’, a new nationalistic campaign spearheaded by Zaid Hamid targeting the youth: “Pakistan should wake up, but not to a new dawn of racism and bigotry.”
Pakistan: Two More Blasts In Karachi
Five Rupees reports that two more suicidal blasts targeting Shia mourners rocked busy streets of Karachi taking scores of lives.
Pakistan: The Dr. Aafia Siddiqui Verdict
Teeth Maestro comments on the Dr. Aafia Siddiqui Verdict : “I and many Pakistanis may not actually like the overall decision, but we must draw the line. [..] Being a staunch believer in supremacy of judiciary we must accept this verdict, without possibly burning down the American Embassy in sheer...
Haiti: Help from Neighbours
CARICOM member states make donations to the Haiti earthquake relief effort: Repeating Islands has the details.
Sri Lanka: On Independence Day
Chanux at Prove that real but not virtual blog misses something on the 62nd Independence day of Sri Lanka.
Jamaica: R.I.P. Huie
Repeating Islands acknowledges the passing of Jamaican painter Albert Huie.
Bangladesh: Slum Children For A Clean City
The students of the Dhaka Project, an organization which provides free education and health-care for slum children of Dhaka, participated in a community program called “lets clean Bangladesh” – reports the project blog.
Barbados: Dangerous Driving
Barbados Free Press reports on a traffic death charge that took 11 years to reach to trial: “Meanwhile the accused…racked up almost two hundred traffic convictions and up until yesterday was still driving on our roads and endangering our friends and loved ones.”
Jamaica: Athletes of the Decade
YardFlex.com reports that Usain Bolt and Veronica Campbell-Brown are “the only Jamaican and Caribbean athletes” who made the prestigious Track and Field News magazine's Athletes of the Decade list.
Jamaica, U.S.A.: Wisdom of Children
“I learned that children are naturally giving and spontaneous and if we are not willing to accept some of the ‘wild energy’ of our children and if we continue to treat our schools as warehouses, then we should be prepared to accept the death of their imagination”: Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey...
Bangladesh: BRAC In Pakistan
Malik Rashid at BRAC Blog describes how BRAC, the Bangladeshi NGO, is teaching children in the town of Haripur in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) in Pakistan.
Taiwan: Blogger meets with former President
Blogger Ben Goren describes his meeting with Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), the former President of Taiwan, in the Tucheng Detention Centre. Chen has been in detention for over a year while on trial for corruption related charges.
Digital library of Lao manuscripts
Digital library of Lao manuscripts features 86,000 texts from 800 monasteries in Laos. The web project aims to preserve historic Lao literary texts.
Laos: Declining number of elephants
A group warns that domesticated elephants in Laos may disappear in 50 years.
Laos: 450 Year Road
The 450 Year Road in Laos is now 80 percent complete. The road is built to celebrate the 450th anniversary of Vientiane as capital of the country.
Haiti: Russian Interpol Officer Blogs About Disaster
A Russian Interpol officer in Haiti shares his accounts of the disaster and its aftermath on his blog.
Ukraine: Yanukovych Campaign Ad in Crimean Tatar
LJ user indrih posts a copy of Victor Yanukovych's campaign ad in the Crimean Tatar language and explains (RUS): “Next to Yanukovych's last name are the words ‘light’ and ‘kindness,’ next to Tymoshenko's last name – ‘darkness’ and ‘evil.’ ‘This is the difference between them,’ is written underneath this comparative...
Ukraine: “The Perfect Pickle”
Irina Leonenko shares the story of “her mother's quest for the perfect pickle” at The Pickle Project.
Ukraine: Changes to Election Law
Foreign Notes comments on the last minute changes to election law in Ukraine: “It seems to me any attempts to change the rules half way through any competition, even sporting, should be treated with the greatest of suspicion.”