Stories from 17 November 2005
WSIS: Defending Freedom of Speech in Tunisia
Despite the odds, we managed to pull off our “Expression Under Repression” seminar here at the World Summit For Internet and Society. This was largely thanks to the strong spine of our sponsors, the Dutch NGO Hivos, who fended off a phalanx of plainclothes police who tried to shut us...
Iran: literature & Blog
Abbas Maroufi, Germany based writer & blogger, has decided to publish one of his books on his blog. Book's name is ” Fereydoun had three sons” and people can download it free of charge.
Guatemala: Estimate of Damages Caused by Hurricane Stan
Chapinadas takes a look at the final damages dealt by hurricane Stan.
Hoduras: Fiesta Patronal
The weblog of the Passionist Volunteers describes the feast day of Talanga's patron saint, San Diego.
Video Blog from WSIS: Negroponte's $100 Laptop
Eight-minute video documentary of the prototype of Nicholas Negroponte's $100 laptop, which premiered yesterday at the WSIS summit in Tunis. Andy Carvin talks with the chief technology officer of the initiative and gets a first-hand look at this highly anticipated device.
Panama: Carpaccio Recipe
Melissa De Leon says she's crazy about carpaccio and shares her secret recipe.
Peru, Costa Rica: Blogger Meetups
Costa Rican bloggers will be meeting up on the 25th while Peruvian bloggers will meet up in Lima on the 26th.
Chad: arrest of Habre
Coalition for Dafur report on the arrest of Hissene Habre, former president of Chad Republic……”Habre, who is accused of murder, torture and a host of other crimes during his eight-year reign, was arrested at his home in Senegal's seaside capital, where he had lived in exile with his family since...
Venezuela: SUMATE, Economy
The Devil's Excrement asks if anyone is paying attention to Sumate's lastest allegations against the Venezuelan Electoral Board while Oil Wars comments on the
Nigeria: WSIS
Jangbalajugbu-Homeland Stories reports from WSIS in Tunis on the World Youth Congress…..”At the congress young people from different parts of the world came together to discuss the issues that affect them in the prevailing era of Information and Communications Technologies.”
SA: paying for water
Mzansi Afrika asks whether South Africans can “afford to wash today” as the introduction of water meters for residential users…..”There are many problems that come with pre-paid water: sewage pipe blockages, the low amount of free water supplied means that residents have to be very cautious when using water so...
Africa: Timbuktu
African Unchained reports on the Timbuku Educational Foundation.….”founded for the sole purpose of preserving, restoring, and disseminating the important intellectual contributions of the early African scholars from the famous Timbuktu Universities of Mali, West Africa”
Zimbabwe: climate change
Eddie Cross writing in Zimbabwean Pundit discusses the possible impact of climate change on local agribusnesses and peasant farming….”Climate change will further damage the prospects of the subsistence sector. These farmers, some 800 000 of them – mostly women, do not produce significant surpluses and with the growth in urban...
US – travel procedures
Afromusing relays her most recent experience of travelling in the US and the inconsistency of airline security procedures - or is there some racial element involved?
Cousins marrying
Chippla's Weblog discusses the ethnics of cousins marrying. ….“Whatever your views on first cousin marriages happen to be, they would likely be shaped by your beliefs, upbringing, environment and what you have read and chosen to accept.”
DDT: poison
Grandiose Parlour adds his voice to the DDT debate as he questions the safety of using that chemical to eradicate malaria. “The question is: Are we ready to do what it takes to control or even eradicate malaria? Or all we want to do is spray the bloody anopheles mosquitos...
China: More Self-Criticism
On Anti's English Blog, a translation of an interview with liberal author Yu Shicun on his opposition to intellectuals. “There is no effective criticism among intellectuals, not to mention effective criticism to the society. The intellectuals lack the sense of self discipline and making contribution to the society. This has...
China, North Korea: Interview with a Historian
Austin Arensberg meets Paul French at a Beijing bookshop and interviews him about his new book on North Korea.
Indonesia: Year of Eradicating Corruption
On Indonesia Today by Yosef Ardi, an evaluation of how successful the Indonesian government has so far been in stamping out graft in 2005, which it had dubbed the “Year of Eradicating Corruption.” The verdict: not very successful.
South Korea: APEC Protests
As the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Busan, South Korea nears, Andy Jackson of Flying Yangban discusses what the likely anti-globalization protests that will accompany it mean.
India: Open Source
India: Open Source
