Stories from 23 September 2005
Rising Gasoline Prices
Charles Ganske of the Russia Blog reports that just like in the United States, rising gasoline prices are a big issue in Russia at the moment.
Scrambling for Votes
the beatroot discusses how one of Poland's right-wing parties is scrambling for votes at the last minute before this Sunday's election.
Slovenia's 10th Referendum
Slovenes go to the polls this weekend to vote in their tenth referendum since independence. This referendum concerns the future of Slovenia's national broadcaster, RTVS. The Glory of Carniola discusses what is at stake.
Ulaanbaatar's Magnificent Metro
Ulaanbaatar's metro is extremely difficult to find. Okay, it doesn't even exist. But that doesn't stop people from celebrating its wonders.
Yurts
The Golden Road to Samarqand discusses Kyrgyz yurts and poetry about them.
“Desert Nights” Shown to SoCal Armenian Community
Martuni or Bust!!! reports on a screening for Southern California's Armenian community of HETQ's documentary “Desert Nights” on the trafficking of Armenian women and girls to the United Arab Emirates by Arab and Armenian gangs.
Dispatches from the Yerevan Rock Scene
Onnik Krikorian continues his stellar coverage of the Armenian rock scene with an alert that MDP will be making a rare Armenia appearance soon and points to more information on the band.
Venezuela: Virtual Workshop on Beginning a Literary Blog
Jorge Letralia, editor of Letralia, Tierra de Letras will be offering a virtual workshop in Spanish on setting up a literary blog. [via Veneblogs]
Venezuela: Government Handling of Floods
As Americans prepare for hurricane Rita, Venezuela News and Views takes a critical stance against how the Chavez government has handled flooding in Caracas.
China: Guangdong sweatshops
China Herald highlights Chinese media reports that the Guangdong provincial authorities have compiled a blacklist of 20 sweatshops which force workers into excessive unpaid overtime, underpay workers or use child labor.
Hong Kong: Deconstructing Disney
Walk the Talk reports on a lecture given by Asian Wall Street Journal reporter and Harvard-trained anthropologist Geoffrey Fowler in Hong Kong on how the mainland Chinese consumer is reinventing the Mouse (and coming up with a Cat).
Taiwan: Media watch
Taiwan Tiger takes a look at the different sorts of spin in mainstream media reporting, notably in mainland China and the United States.
Thailand: Working with Thais
SiamJai posts a 750-word essay on how to get better cooperation than most Westerners achieve with Thai colleagues in the workplace.
Vietnam: Organic vegetables
Noodlepie signs up for, and reviews, an organic vegetable delivery service run by a company called Organik Vietnam.
Nigeria: Sex or prayer?
trae_z at Trae Days blogs about losing his religion, though not his sense of God, and his scepticism about deifying human beings, though not about miracles.
Township Sessions: CD review
Afromusing reviews the forthcoming release of “Township Sessions”, a CD released from an old cassette recording by the South African Philani Mothers Choir.
Sudan: Medair chopper service
The Passion of the Present reports that the roads in West Darfur have become so dangerous that Switzerland-based medical aid NGO Medair has started helicopter flights to reach affected areas. Medair is one of the longest-serving NGOs in Darfur, with a presence there since 2001.
Uganda: Prayer and action
UgandaCAN organizes a “Weekend of Prayer and Action” on behalf of children affected by 19 years of war in northern Uganda.
Zimbabwe: Farm manager beaten
Zimpundit rails against the beating by a gang of armed men of white farm manager Allan Warner, quoting Martin Luther King Jr.: “Are we any better than they are if we treat them like they've treated us?”
Globalization & Democracy: The Helsinki Conference 2005
The Helsinki Conference 2005: From Words to Action I recently attended the Helsinki Conference 2005 in Helsinki, Finland (Sept. 7-9). The conference was a follow-up to the Helsinki Process on Globalization and Democracy initiated by the governments of Tanzania and Finland in 2002 to create a multi-stakeholder approach to solving...
Iran: Iranian Thanksgiving
Do you know the relation between Jashen Mehregan and the Christians Thanksgiving? This is what Ali Mostofi talks about here.
