Archive for
April 2nd, 2006

   

Stories

Bold Flavors of the World

Melissa De Leòn Douglass · 20:54 · East Asia , South Asia

#1: From Cambodia, Phnomenon

To understand Cambodian cooking, we have to look back to explore the historical events that took place there and the cultures that influenced the building of today's gastronomical bounty.

In the 6th century, Cambodia was a kingdom with an Indian-inspired culture, situated on the delta and along the middle reaches of the Mekong river. Until 1432, Cambodia progressively expanded its borders, taking in present-day Myanmar (formerly Burma) and Vietnam, but in the 18th century the Vietnamese began to colonize the delta and this territory became a battleground between Vietnam and the former Siam. (TWWG)

Now, take a look at this peculiar Corn on the Cob with Grey Onion Sauce. Would you like to try that or not?

#2:  From Thailand & Myanmar (Burma), Real Thai

Talking about the culinary tendencies of the neighboring countries, how about learning a bit about cooking and eating in Burma and Thailand? You are going to love it, first visit here: More Myanmar.

Thai Day: Eating with the neighbors, Explore the largely unknown landscape of Burmese cuisine.

Thai Day: Chili Me Softly, Discovering the delights of Thai cuisine need not be a spicy, complicated experience.

#3: From India, Rani and Raja

Bananas over corn, or going bananas for corn? Anyways, you decide:

I was surprised to find corn used so widely in India. Barbequed corn on the cob sold on the street is a great way to warm up on a cold winter night. One of our favorite corn dishes we sampled was makki roti, a flatbread made with corn flour. Rotis are usually served with vegetable curries or meats. Makki roti is so good it is a great snack all by itself. In Ajmer we were served makki roti dipped in ghee!…

This will help you satiate your hunger for authentic Indian food: Street Food shots in Mumbai

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Belarus: Political Jokes

Veronica Khokhlova · 16:09 · Eastern & Central Europe

Post-Soviet bloggers continue a good old Soviet tradition of coping with reality and expressing dissent through political jokes (politicheskiye anekdoty) - seemingly innocent stuff that's not really fit to print in a repressive society and is unlikely to make it to state-owned TV in a country like Belarus. Below are some jokes (all translated from Russian) that appeared on Belarusian LiveJournals during and after last month's protests against the rigged presidential election.

LJ user vadea posts a joke about the absurd and paranoid atmosphere in Belarus:

Two KGB officers are traveling on a train and telling each other political jokes.

- Hold on a second, I'll change the tape, - says one.
- Don't bother, you can copy from mine later, - says the other.

LJ user chernidar shares a joke that used to feature former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma during the 2004 Orange Revolution; the recycled version is, of course, about the Belarusian president Aleksandr Lukashenko:

The president […] is walking through a forest and gets lost. He sees a boy:

- Little boy, could you show me the way out of the forest? I'm the president, I'll reward you with a Hero's medal!
- I'll ask my mama.

An hour later:

- Uncle President, and will you give me a postmortem award?
- Why postmortem?
- Because mama said that if I showed you the way, she'd kill me!

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Echoes from the Tunisian Blogosphere

Mohamed Marwen Meddah · 11:29 · Middle East & North Africa

Mochekes (FR), MMM, Tom (FR), Kaaboura and Adib (FR) write about Dubai's TECOM winning the bid for a 35% stake of Tunisie Telecom, the monopoly fixed-line operator in Tunisia which is also estimated to control 72% of the country’s mobile market.

They hope this will bring about a change to the better inside the company and when it comes to the quality of its services.

Zizou (FR) writes about how a 1997 survey between 500 Tunisian women showed that 33,8% of them were victims of violence at home. He wonders if all women know what to do in cases like this and if everything possible is done to help them. He mentions a number of women organisations in Tunisia, and he states that the position the Tunisian woman is in today is the best in the Arab and Muslim world, but that the fight continues.

Nawarat (FR) talks about shopping in Tunisia and how bad it is, how you're limited to either having to buy mediocre quality clothes at cheap prices that everyone is wearing, or buying clothes you really like at madly expensive prices.

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