Stories from 22 December 2008
Sri Lanka: The Siemens Bribery Scandal
Rohan Samarajiva at LIRNEAsia analyzes the recent Siemens Bribery Scandal and comments that every country should check Siemens court papers for traces of corruption.
Pakistan: The forgotten silence of 1971
Raza Rumi at Pak Tea House discusses the tragic events of 1971 that lead to the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan: “The truth is that we as a state and society lost our majority province after pushing its people into a situation where independence through a War of Liberation was...
Pakistan: Airforce On High Alert!
Tensions are apparently running high between India and Pakistan as Lahore Metblogs reports: “Pakistan Air Force today conducted vigilance exercises throughout the central Punjab and North-Eastern parts of the country including Azad Kashmir.”
Bangladesh: A Change Is Required
Life As I Know It comments on the impending Bangladesh election: “I hope this 9th national election brings a change… no matter how small it is. It has to start from somewhere.”
India: The ‘Conspicuous’ Indian Elites
Words From Solitude criticizes the role of the Indian elites after the recent Mumbai terror attacks.
Morocco: Out with the old, in with the new
The View from Fez shares a discussion with Aziza Chaouni, an architect with a plan to redesign and repurpose the famous tanneries of Fez.
Turkey: An Online Apology to Armenia Campaign
According to Istanbul Calling, a new online campaign allowing Turks “to sign onto an apology for the “great catastrophe” that the Armenians suffered during World War I” has been launched by Turkish academics and intellectuals. “The apology, now signed by more than 15,000, studiously avoids the “G” word, but it...
Turkey: A New Take on the Gingerbread House
Carpetblogger proposes a new Christmas tradition, the making of “Ginger Kondu”- gingerbread houses modeled after the architecture of Turkish squatter villages called Gecekondu.
Kurdistance: Celebrating the Night of Winter
Kurdish blogger Rasti wishes a Happy Şeva Zistanê to all. Şeva Zistanê translates into “The Night of Winter” and is celebrated on the Winter Solstice.
Turkey: Campaign for a Joint-Commission on the Armenian Question
Talk Turkey urges individuals to join his new campaign to demand that “Turkey and Armenia form a joint-commission to research and investigate the facts of genocide and other claims; without any pre-existing conditions, and reservations, and that both sides promise and resolve to end this matter once and for all.”
Saudi Arabia: The return of public cinemas?
Public cinemas have been banned in Saudi Arabia for the last 30 years, and if residents of the kingdom want to watch films on the big screen, they travel to nearby Bahrain or the UAE. However, last week in Jeddah a film was screened publicly for a mixed-sex audience. In this post we hear what Saudi blogs have to say on the subject.
Saudi Arabia: The problems of women in medicine
Saudi blogger Ruhsa explores the stigma faced by Saudi women working in medicine, including the idea that women in the field are considered “easy”.
Palestine: No falafels in Gaza
In Gaza has found one of the few falafel stands still able to operate despite fuel shortages in the Gaza Strip.
Barbados: Journalists Arrested
The Barbadian blogosphere is an uproar following the arrest of two mainstream media journalists - a move that bloggers are interpreting as an assault on press freedom.
Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago: Stanford's Legends
Barbadian Cheese-on-bread! and Trinidad-based Caribbean Beat Blog talk about the uncertainty surrounding US billionaire Allen Stanford's continued involvement in Caribbean cricket, following the dissolution of his West Indies 20/20 Cricket Board of Legends.
Jamaica: Christmas Present
All blogger Long Bench wants for Christmas is “a public apology from Bruce Golding for how he and his government have been a spectacular failure and embarrassment to Jamaicans in 2008.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Earthquake & Flood
From Trinidad and Tobago, Coffeewallah blogs about an early morning earthquake: “It was really something that jolt, makes you wonder if the universe is trying to tell us something, floods, earthquake, what next, a plague of grasshoppers?”, while TriniView.com posts photos of the recent flooding she refers to.
Barbados, St. Kitts & Nevis: Murderer Executed
Barbadian bloggers Gallimaufry and Barbados Underground take note of the recent execution of a convicted murderer in St. Kitts.
Jamaica: Half & Half
Jamaicans have an innovative method of dealing with the impact of the global economic crisis – Iriegal says that merchants “are now cutting everything in half and selling it at reduced prices.”
Ecuador: The Passing of Ex-President León Febres Cordero
Ecuador's former President León Febres Cordero passed away this week and many of the country's bloggers are providing thoughts about his legacy. Some are giving him more credit for his work as Mayor of the booming city of Guayaquil, but others think that his works as President was far from praiseworthy.
Armenia-Azerbaijan: LGBT Cultural Icons
Unzipped: Gay Armenia writes that most Armenians are not aware of the sexuality of two of the nation's greatest cultural icons, Sergei Parajanov and Yeghishe Charents. Meanwhile, as the Azerbaijani parliament votes to lift the restriction on the number of terms a president can be elected for, IN MUTATIONE FORTITUDO...
