Stories from May, 2011
Thailand: Foreigners banned from getting religious tattoos
Saksith Saiyasombut reacts to the order of a Thai government official banning foreigners from getting religious tattoos in Thailand
Haiti: A Different View of Cite Soleil
“We want to showcase local talents, and change the image of the youth in Cite Soleil. We want to get people planting again and eating Haitian food”: Throwing Down the Water profiles “a neighborhood committee called ‘La Difference’ [which] formed a movement to clean up their few blocks” and is...
Bahamas, Jamaica: Caribbean Climate Change
Weblog Bahamas‘ Rick Lowe is “all for going green voluntarily…and in time”, while Labrish Jamaica warns: “There is no debate anymore about climate change. It is here. If sea level were to rise only 1 metre in the Caribbean, the impacts would be catastrophic.”
Caribbean: FIFA Foul
Regional bloggers congratulate the Bermudian and Bahamian football representatives – now being lauded as whistleblowers – who refused to accept bribes from FIFA; Globewriter republishes suspended vice-president Jack Warner's statement on the FIFA ruling and Plain Talk says that he is not as concerned with Jack Warner the FIFA rep...
Jamaica: Garvey's Good Name
Diaspora litblogger Geoffrey Philp has begun an online movement to clear Marcus Garvey's name – his aim is “to get 10,000 signatures and to deliver the petition to President Barack Obama.”
CEE Bankwatch Network campaign against EBRD practices
The CEE Bankwatch Network, an NGO monitoring activities of international financial institutions, has just released a video sharply criticizing the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's 20th anniversary of activities in former Soviet Bloc countries, and its intentions to extend to north Africa. “The EBRD has in fact a poor...
East Africa: New Investements for Startups in East Africa
Emeka blogs about Fanisi Venture Capital Fund which “focuses on a segment of the market that has to date been outside the ambit of most venture funds in the East African market. Fanisi makes equity investments of $0.5 million – $3 million per transaction in high growth businesses, including start...
Bolivia: Do Massive Religious Images Promote Tourism?
Luis Ramos in Citizen of La Paz [es] writes about two projects in Bolivia to build “the largest religious statue in the world” and asks: “can religious images alone promote tourism?” He argues that before building “cement idols” Bolivia should focus on creating adequate conditions for tourists to visit cities...
Chile: 5 Great Moments of Chilean Hip-Hop
Music blogger Roberto Carreño lists “5 great moments of Chilean hip-hop” [es]. He includes a brief description and a video of each song.
Mexico: Blogger Interviews Teacher Who Sang to Students During Shooting
Martha Rivera Alanis, the teacher who sang to her students during a shooting in Monterrey, México was given an award for her bravery. In an interview with Regioblogs [es], Martha describes what happened before, during and after the shooting. She explains she decided to sing to the children to try...
Côte d'Ivoire: Is Charles Blé Goudé alive ?
After weeks of uncertainty about his whereabouts, an alleged audio recording of Charles Blé Goudé [fr], the former Ivorian Minister of Youth under ousted president Laurent Gbagbo, has appeared in the Facebook group, “RESEAU MONDIAL FACEBOOKERS POUR GBAGBO” (Worldwide Network of Facebookers for Gbagbo). In the recording, posted by Cyrius...
Global: Amnesty International Celebrates 50 Years
May 28, 2011, marks the 50th anniversary of Amnesty International.
China: Sex, nation and cultural traitors
Siweiluozi has written an excellent piece, in response to the State's interrogation of Li Tiantain's sex life, to discuss the formation of China as a nation through discourses about sex and women as cultural traitors.
India: Missing Children, Trafficking And Growth Of Child Slavery
Amrita Paul at Youth Ki Awaaz opines that it is time to get serious about the issues of missing children, trafficking and the growth of child slavery in India.
Bhutan: Perspectives From The Villages
Bhutanese blog Whatever Matters provides some perspectives from the villages on some contemporary issues of Bhutan including the wedding of the Bhutanese King and the controversial tobacco control act.
Nepal: The Difference The Maoists Have Made
Maila Baje at Nepali Netbook discusses about the difference the Maoists have made in Nepali politics.
Philippines: Online campaign to defeat Reproductive Health measure
The Catholic Church has turned to cyberspace in its bid to defeat the proposed Reproductive Health bill now pending in Philippine Congress.
Pakistan: Journalist Disappeared
Chowrangi reports that Journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad, correspondent of Italian news agency Adnkronos International (AKI) in Pakistan, has disappeared recently in Islamabad. In 2006 he was kidnapped by Taliban militants while on duty and was later released.
Thailand: Free bilingual business newspaper
Launched this year, Business Plus Thailand is Thailand's only free bilingual business newspaper that focuses on local news.
India: Media Biased About Elite And Middle Class
Sans Serif comments: “although it is easy to find instances of media manufactured struggles in India if the victims are elite, educated or middle class but to say the same for this very media taking up the causes of the underprivileged, oppressed or rural masses is difficult.”
Twitter monitor of Thailand election
The twitter account @ThaiElection11 provides English news updates about the July 3 general election in Thailand. The news source is from The Nation, a leading broadsheet in Bangkok.
