Stories from 22 November 2010
Chile: Education Reform Sparks Debate
Mauricio Rojas explains and critiques [es] a recent education reform presented by the Ministry of Education. Mauricio ends his post linking to another point-of-view on the reform by José J. Brunner [es]. The reform has sparked a debate because, among other things, it would reduce class time for Social Science...
Argentina: Citizen Pictures of La Plata's 128th Anniversary
The online citizen newspaper Letra Compartida [es] from La Plata, Argentina, created a photo album of citizen pictures from the city's 128th anniversary, which was celebrated on November 19th.
Sri Lanka: On Facebook Friends
Mili asks “what does a Facebook Friend mean to you?”
Trinidad & Tobago: Children's Rights
“ALL of us together changed the world a little bit for the better by our combined actions on Universal Children's Day 2010″: gspottt and Plain Talk attended the Justice for Children March this past weekend.
Cuba: Rafters Hoping for a New Life
Laritza's Laws and Iván's File Cabinet both blog about Cuban rafters who risk it all for a chance at freedom.
St. Lucia: Struggling After Tomas
“What struck me…as it poured down again today…the soil was so thoroughly soaked by those 23+ inches that fell 3 weeks ago that the rain has no-where to go, the soil is full, floods are instant, landslips continuing”: Sun Rain Or… says that the harsh wet season, coming on the...
Japan: Young voices against job-hunting system
Students who are obsessed with job hunting [en] and cannot find a job, young workers who had to give up on the job of their dreams because their hunt wasn't successful, graduate students who had to enroll in a master's to have a chance to be hired by companies who...
Jamaica: Funeral of the “Cool Ruler”
Active Voice attends the funeral service for Gregory Isaacs and observes: “Considering how big Gregory was abroad it was surprising to see how small the crowd that came to send him off in Kingston was.”
Guyana: Writers’ Challenges
“I wonder…if being categorized as ‘Caribbean writer’ helps or hurts a book's promotion and sales”: The Signifyin’ Woman blogs about some of the challenges Caribbean writers face.
Uganda: New U.S. Lord's Restistance Army Strategy
Ledio Cakaj blogs about the new strategy by the U.S Congress aimed at dismantling the Lord's Resistance: “It appears the strategy will mostly continue the current course with beefed up support to the on-going Ugandan army offensive against LRA groups in Congo, Central African Republic, and Sudan.”
Japan: Kids perform traditional Kabuki drama
Photojournalist Buddhika Weerasinghe published on his blog a series of photos of kids performing Kabuki, a traditional Japanese form of theater. On occasion of the 10th anniversary of Maruoka Kid Kabuki, a group of elementary and junior school students performed Chushingura, the legendary 18th century tale of 47 ronin (or...
Zambia: Interview with Zambian author Theresa Lungu
Miss Bwalya interviews Zambian author Theresa Lungu about her book Twilight in the Morning: “I did a phone interview with her to acquaint myself and others with her life and work. I hope you find this informative as I did.”
Africa: The Mobutu Prize of Corruption International
Do you know the Mobutu Prize of Corruption International? “The first nominee is the King of Ethiopia, His Excellency King Haille Gleedie, who sold the entire national food reserve to buy his wife those diamonds.’ ‘Hurray!’ shouted the crowd. ‘What courage! What sacrifice!’”
Somalia: Why do pirates hijack vessels?
Hassan explains the motive behind piracy in Somalia: “Piracy is becoming fashionable among Somali youth because of the huge sums of money involved. According to reports in the Somali media-pirates live a lavish lifestyle, with most of them driving big cars and marrying the most beautiful girls in Town.”
Ukraine: “Revolution 2.0″
Andriy Kachor (@Ka4or) reports (UKR; #kat_ua) that Khreshchatyk, Kyiv's central street, has been “blocked” by the protesters and that “the number of cops is growing proportionally to the number of the people.” Dan Matteush (@Matteush) calls it (UKR) “Revolution 2.0″, alluding to the protests known as the Orange Revolution six...
Ukraine: Protests Against New Tax Code in Kyiv
Thousands of representatives of the Ukrainian small and medium business community are protesting against the new tax code in Kyiv. Live Ustream broadcast is here (over 5,000 viewers); Twitter tag is #kat_ua (UKR, RUS).
China: bridge-blog posts original documentary of rural life
C. Custer, of bridge-blog ChinaGeeks, has posted his first original documentary of life in China's rural northeast. Plans are also underway for a second project, entitled Finding Home, which will look at the kidnapping and selling of children in the People's Republic.
China: Messages behind the flowers to the Shanghai fire victims
Yesterday, thousands of mourners in Shanghai flocked to the 28-storey apartment block that was gutted by a tragic fire on November 15 to pay their respects for the 58 residents who perished. Much of China's headlines today focus on the collective mourning, but few have highlighted the messages behind citizens' insistence in offering flowers at the disaster site.
China: Campaigning for Wang Yi
A Safe World for Women is campaigning for Wang Yi, a Twitterer, who was sentenced to one year labour re-education for retweeting a satirical message. (via WLYeung)
China: Generation 90
Maryannodonnell discusses the common stereotype of generation 90 in China.
Thailand: Two Thousand Dead Fetuses in Buddhist Temple
More than 2,000 illegally aborted fetuses were discovered in a Buddhist temple in Thailand and this has reinvigorated the debate on whether it is already time to update the country’s abortion laws. Netizens share their opinion
