Archive for
October 9th, 2006
Stories
Peru: El Banco Financiero Listents to the Blogosphere
A common critique of weblogs is that they have no teeth. “The important insight of a single post gets lost in the overwhelming sea of words,” they say. Or, “sure, any blogger can figure out the world's problems on her weblog, but how does that change the real world?”
One small, practically insignificant, step at a time I would argue. Here is Andres Hardrada's translation of an illustrative post by Peruvian blogger Eduardo Solis [ES]. If you are interested in volunteering for Global Voices as a translator, please leave a comment below or send a message to the appropriate Regional Editor.
Remember that some time ago I posted about the product Edu-k from the Financiero bank? If you missed it, you better read it, you won't believe what comes next.
Cayman Islands: Cruising for bruising
In the caption to this photo, Flickr user George Chang touches upon one of the dilemmas facing small tourist economies:
There are 6 cruise ships that you can see in this picture. They are anchored off of George Town in Grand Cayman, BWI [196 km²]. These ships actually do a lot of damage to the reefs with their anchors and chains. However, they are also a large revenue generator for the island.
Congo-Brazzaville: Should a Colonizer Be Honored Like a Founding Father?
For me, this De Brazza business is like someone telling you: “We got the crap beaten out of us, but at least De Brazza put on some vaseline while the others let our wounds dry. So let's give thanks to De Brazza.” (Fr) - From a reader at Mwinda.org
This week, the remains of French-Italian explorer and colonialist Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza was exhumed in Algeria and reinterred in a multi-million dollar mausoleum in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo which still bears his name.
The international mainstream media have barely mentioned the reinterrment, and where they have, much of the coverage has stressed De Brazza's humanitarian and anti-slavery work. However, many Congolese, as well as citizens from throughout French-speaking Africa, view De Brazza as a colonizer and are appalled by Brazzaville's decision to honor him like a founding father. For many, the event raises difficult questions about how to remember the past and build a national identity in countries whose very existence is owed to the same foreign powers that tried to dominate and destroy their people.
Mwinda Press, the journal of the Associaton of Congolese Democrats in France, has several articles (Fr) on the De Brazza story, each of which provoked a flurry of commentary from the site's readers. Below, I've translated some of the conversation at Mwinda Press as well as the blog of Togolese writer Kangni Alem (Fr).
Bangladesh blog buzz
The latest happenings in Bangladeshi blogs around the world:
* Politics: A recent study published in the Daily Star depicts that there are 53% undecided voters making the prediction of the coming 2007 election very uncertain. Nazim Farhan Chowdhury of Conversations with an Optimist says this is because the voters have lost all faith in the politicians. He has an interesting analysis of the major parties' chances.
* Living: Share the Magic on the burning issues of Bangladesh at present.
* Human rights: Zubair of Unheard Voices - Drishtipat group blog laments on the horrors of abuses of domestic helps and seeks ways to help them and start an awareness campaign.
Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury's farcical trial in Bangladesh has created much controversy. Sepia Mutiny has a round up of world reactions. However Mr. Chowdhury is still a free man and the local press is surprisingly silent over the issue.
* Violence: Nazim Farhan Chowdhury of Conversations with an Optimist criticizes the violent nature of the recent protests and police brutalities in Bangladesh. He accuses the leaderships for this situation and asks whether Bangladeshis can find again the wisdom of Gandhi and Islam to resort to peaceful means in solving problems.
* Corruption: Mohammad Farhan Husain of Had I been in Voyager 1!!! is tormented by a news article of corruption in Biman, the national carrier of the Bangladesh which had a good reputation.
* Food: Siddiqua Kabir's “Ranna Khadyo Pushti” is the most popular cook book of Bangladesh. Many Bangladeshi expats have a copy of the book in their shelves. Ihtisham Kabir of Back to Bangladesh blog praises this book saying that it is equally helpful in home and abroad.
He also posts some photos of the mouth watering foods of Iftar sold during Ramadan time in Dhaka streets.
* Travel: Sanjoy Kumar has some fabulous photos from his recent tour to Rangamati and Bandarban, two beautiful tourist attractions of Bangladesh.
* Fashion: There is a saying that ‘cloth makes a man'. Andrew Morris of Morris the Pen analyzes Bangladeshi men by their fashion.
* Technology: Asif of Unheard Voices - Drishtipat group blog informs that the Bengali Wikipedia crossed 10000 entry and Bangla has become only the 2nd language from the South Asia to achieve the feat.
Links for Mon, 2006-10
Reunion blogger Pierrot Dupuy announces (Fr) that the government of Mauritius plans to facilitate free internet access for 40% of its population by the end of the year.
Afghan Warrior says that Pakistan must do more to control its territory so that the security situation in Afghanistan can improve.
Burnell of Blogrel says that Armenia should move away from thinking of Russia as the best export market for its products.
Yulia of neweurasia rounds up the week in the Kyrgyz blogosphere.
Nareg discusses a phenomenon in Armenian fashion he calls monochromosis armeniaca.
Christian Garbis spent the weekend on the plains of Ararat, and reports on the perseverance of a successful farmer, his surrogate father in Armenia, who works the land there.
Alexander Sadikov reports on the Tajik government's decision to block access to certain “harmful” foreign websites that criticize the government, a move, Sadikov says, that indicates the government's determination to extend control over all facets of life in Tajikistan.
Prominent politician and daughter of the president Dariga Nazarbaeva has proposed that Kazakhstan become a party list parliamentary democracy, reports Sean Roberts, who also discusses whether or not she really means it.
Grandiose Parlor thinks Naija Blog simplified and over-dramatized the corruption phenomenon in Nigeria: For example, the blog states “If you go into public office and don’t come out rich, you are a failure. Your immediate and extended families will curse you…” Really? I didn’t know this. And as I peruse the post I couldn’t find any plausible solutions proposed to solve the problem beyond asking various religion bodies to speak against corruption. The Priest, Imam, Bishop etc, have never been effective ‘anti-corruption’ advocates because of how they operate under the constitution and in the society.”
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