Stories from 25 November 2010
Armenia-Azerbaijan: Does culture unite or divide?
With a recent survey indicating that the majority of Armenians and Azerbaijanis are against mutual friendship, hopes for peace between the two neighboring countries appear very bleak indeed. Recent developments, including in the sphere of culture, appear to support that notion, but is there any hope?
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Election Violence
“When did we become so intolerant that we are unwilling to grant people the right of association?”: Abeni is calling for an end to the violence surrounding the lead-up to election day.
Trinidad & Tobago: El Tucuche
“The only known Amerindian glyphs in Trinidad occur on a rock outcrop here”: wordtryst blogs about her favourite mountain.
Cuba: Waiting in Vain?
“We are surrounded by a repression that does not sign papers, show its face, or place a stamp next to each act which violates its own law”: Generation Y is waiting for answers.
Barbados: Shameful Vote at UN
With the country's recent abstention from the UN vote allowing executions of LGBT people, BFP says: “I have always found it shameful that Barbados – a nation founded with the assistance of chains, whips, rape and cultural genocide – now so easily supports nations involved in slavery and human rights...
Bermuda: The Marijuana Issue
“Truth be told, there is no way to stop people from smoking weed”: bermudashorts suggests that if politicians want to have “a meaningful conversation with young people about weed”, they will need to understand that most of them “don’t want to be fed a bunch of lies about marijuana’s ill...
Azerbaijan: Turkish memoir allegations
The Önər Blog [AZ] summarizes and comments on some of the allegations made against Azerbaijan's former president and Soviet-era boss in a new book of memoirs by a Turkish Embassy Press Attaché in the oil-rich country. The blog also posts an English translation.
Ukraine: Entrepreneurs Renew Mass Protests
@Matteush reads tweets marked with the #kat_ua hashtag, concludes (UKR) that “the whole country has risen to protest bandit tax code”: rallies and strikes by entrepreneurs are taking place in (UKR, RUS) Chernivtsi, Rivne, Odessa, Lutsk, Kharkiv, Lviv. In Kyiv, some 30,000 are said to have gathered at Maidan, and...
Lebanon: Warmer than usual
Seif and Beirut writes about the warmer than usual weather in Lebanon around this time of the year and its possible effects on water supply and other environmental issues.
Lebanon: Lebneneez Calendar 2011
Artist and blogger Nadine Feghaly posts about the collaboration of 12 Lebanese artists who made a calendar out of their illustrations of their favourite Lebanese saying.
Lebanon: Blogoshpere Embraces LGBT Bloggers
“…as blogging in general is becoming more and more popular in Lebanon, so are Lebanese LGBT blogs. The blogs are very new, less than a year old… The themes of the blog are as diverse as the Lebanese LGBT community itself,” wrote Daisy, who also linked to some of the...
Lebanon: Blogging Lebanon – the Convention
“After its unfortunate cancellation last May due to student protests at the American University of Beirut, AUB's Online Collaborative is announcing the relaunch of AUB's First Lebanese Bloggers Convention, now renamed to Blogging Lebanon,” writes Moudz, who posts details about the event.
Lebanon: Le bonheur
In a blog dedicated to paintings and illustrations, Ella posts this painting about a happy moment of a girl and her cat.
Lebanon: CBC Report on Hariri Assassination Sparks Debate
An in-depth CBC report on the high-profile assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Al Hariri has sparked intense discussion in the Lebanese blogosphere.
The Cold War Origin of Asia's Troubled Waters
Andy Yee reviews the Cold War history and the role of the U.S in the Northeast Asia territorial conflicts in Asia Sentinel.
China’s wetland crisis
China Dialogue has a collection of photos taken by Sean Gallagher showing the decline of China’s wetland crisis and its impact.
El Salvador: Important Support for Law Prohibiting Metallic Mining
Tim from Tim's El Salvador Blog reports: “A law to prohibit metallic mining in El Salvador got important support today, as a deputy in the Salvadoran National Assembly from the GANA party announced GANA's support of the measure. “
Chile: Support for Electoral Reform
Greg Weeks from Two Weeks Notice shares poll results that show support for an electoral reform: “A new poll in Chile shows support for some electoral reform, particularly for voting to be voluntary (77%). Meanwhile, 60% support making registration automatic once you become 18 years old. The same percentage supports...
Korea: Paulo Coelho Joined the #Prayforkorea in Twitter
After North Korea's artillery shelling on a South Korean island, killing two marines and two civilians and wounding at least a dozen people, twitterers, both local and international, have joined the #prayforkorea discusssion. Paulo Coelho, the Brazilian star writer, tweeted “On the verge of a war: Twitter can do nothing, but prayers can. #prayforkorea #importantnews”
Peru: Fines For Careless Pedestrians
As of November 15, Peruvian pedestrians can be fined if they break the Traffic Code. In a country where pedestrians and drivers are notorious for not complying with traffic regulations, bloggers are expressing their feelings about this measure.
