Stories from Quick Reads from May, 2010
Japan: My Eyes Tokyo
Isao Tokuhashi at My Eyes Tokyo interviews foreigners living in Tokyo. The latest interview, the 32nd in the series, is Robert Koch, an audio products manufacturer from Pietermaritzburg in South Africa.
Azerbaijan: Animal rights
Thoughts. Dreams. Visions. Nightmares. Me. reports on an action staged in support of animal rights in Azerbaijan. The blog says that the event held close to Baku's Zoo was a welcome event and centered on the need to create a special center to cater for stray animals. However, it also...
Pakistan: The Lesson In The Facebook Ban
Following the lifting of the ban on Facebook by Lahore High-court, Adil Najam at All Things Pakistan questions: “So, what is the lesson in all of this? Who gained what in this entire episode? And who lost what?”
Sri Lanka: Where To Put Your Trash
Iromi Perera at Groundviews writes about the garbage problem in Sri Lanka and comments: “dumping your trash in front of another person’s house seems to be the common and recommended solution.”
Sri Lanka: Buying A Condom In Colombo
London, Lanka And drums quotes a friend who shares his experience in Colombo: “to the average man buying condoms is a total nightmare.”
Russia: Photos and Live Tweets of the Dispersal of the “Day of Dissent”
Bloggers nl [RUS], zyalt [RUS], Igor Podgorny [RUS] post pictures of the dispersal of today's “Day of Dissent” that is conducted on the 31st day of the month in order to celebrate 31st article of the Russian Constitution [EN] (freedom of assembly). Abstract2001 reports [RUS] at least 25 people arrested,...
Africa: Poor African parents and their choices
The debate about poor African parents and their choices continues.
Why Invest In Bangladesh?
Why invest in Bangladesh? Because “Bangladesh is a winning combination with its competitive market, business-friendly environment and cost structure that can give you the best returns,” comments GuruMia.com.
Nigeria: Oil spills have taken place for past 50 years
Sokari points out that oil spills have been taking place in Nigeria for the past 50 years.
China: lost in translation
The machine translation of Chinese character into English can be really hilarious. PH from veggie discourse has a few examples.
China: Responses to FoxConn's suicides
SACOM have several updates on reactions and responses to FoxConn workers’ consecutive suicides, including 1. Appeal by Sociologists on FoxConn suicides, 2. Global Day of Remembrance for Victims of Foxconn, 3. Letter to Apple and 4. A protest action in Hong Kong
Russia: Journalist's Blog Hacked
Both LiveJournal (sina-ja-mina) and Facebook accounts of Andrei Maltsev [RUS], journalist and blogger, were hacked on May 31, Vladimir Pribylovski reported [RUS]. This is the fourth blog hack this year and the third during the previous week (Following hack attacks of Maxim Sviridenkov [EN] and Renata Guseletova (aka demonessa22 [RUS])).
Russia: Blogger Describes His Experience With E-Gov Portal
Alexey Grigoriev blogs [RUS] about his experience of starting a small business at e-government portal gosuslugi.ru. The portal is still full of technical bugs and even after online application one has to present all the papers in the regional tax service office.
Lebanon: Evil challenges against techy women
Lebanese blogger and geek Mir talks about six “evil” challenges women in the IT world face in her latest post.
Maldives: A Non Muslim In the 100% Muslim Nation
Hasan Ziayu reports about a Maldivian who openly announced his disbelief in Islam on state television and was detained by police. Now the dilemma is: one cannot become a Maldivian unless he is a Muslim, but since the person is already a citizen, what will happen to his citizenship?
Pakistan: Netizens Demand End To Internet Censorship
Sana Saleem at Mystified Justice posts a plea by the netizens to the Pakistani government to end the ongoing Internet censorship and intimidation in the country.
France: Scholar Unpacks the Concept of National Identity
Reflets reposts (Fr) from newspaper Le Monde a review of “L'identité nationale, une énigme“, a book by a specialist in comparative anthology Marcel Detienne, denouncing the “mythideology” of an immanent France, whose brand of nationalism rules out interracial mixing. The author was interviewed in two videos, here and here (november...
Japan: National police to share information on organized crime members
Sarah Noorbakhsh, at Japan Subculture Research Center's blog, reports [en] on the forthcoming cooperation between the National Police Agency (NPA) and the Japan Security Dealers Association (JSDA). The police will provide information for a database on yakuza (Japanese mafia) members “to combat organized crime members opening securities accounts”.
Jamaica: Mapping the state of emergency
Citiizen media initiative On The Ground News Reports creates a Google maps-based “situation map” to record incidents related to the state of emergency in Jamaica.
Georgia: Election reporting in ethnic Azeri region
Writing on Eyes on Georgia, and also tweeting at @AliResh, Azerbaijani journalism student Resh Ali posts a brief account of voting in a largely ethnic Azeri-populated region of Georgia in today's local elections. While noting some improvements, the blog says that there are problems with the vote and shortcomings in...
Pakistan: Culture Of Intolerance
Raza Rumee at Pak Tea House discusses about the recent attacks on Ahmadi community in Pakistan and what signs it gives.
