Stories from 9 September 2009
Albania: Enver Hoxha
Albanian Blogger links to an article about the former Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha, which appeared in the Guardian: “Also the picture of the statue of the dictator in the main square, which was pulled down by protesters about 19 years ago brings back memories for me. I was very young...
Hungary: Budapest Gay Pride Parade Protected
Marietta Le reports on the blog coverage of the 14th Gay Pride March, which took place in Budapest on Sept. 5 under increased police protection.
Jordan: No to Bad Internet!
Jordan's Facebook users are joining hands in protest against what they describe as bad Internet services in their country through forming this group.
Palestine: Travelers Say Israel is Illegally Denying Access
Travelers to the Palestinian West Bank are now facing new restrictions. Visas obtained from Israeli consulates for their visit are stamped "Palestinian Authority areas only" in violation of the 1995 Oslo II Accords which allow unhindered movement for foreign travelers to Israel. Jillian C. York reports.
Ukraine: Prices, Earnings and iPods
Ukrainiana cites this year's Prices and Earnings report by UBS, Europe's second-largest bank: “On average, it takes 82 hrs of work to buy an iPod Nano in Kyiv, compared to 10.5 hrs in Toronto, 9 hrs in New York, 36 hrs in Moscow and 45.5 hrs in Warsaw.”
Ukraine: Art Arsenal
MoldovAnn writes about Kyiv's new Art Arsenal museum.
Ukraine: First Day of School
Belatedly, a link to Michelle Knisley's photos of Kyiv schoolgirls celebrating the first day of school on Sept. 1, 2009.
Eastern Europe: WWII and the Jews
The Foreigner's Guide to Slovakia writes about WWII and the Jews of Slovakia. CzechFolks.com writes about the rescue of hundreds of Czechoslovak Jewish children by Sir Nicholas Winton in 1939. Polandian writes about “the crazy idea of moving Eastern European Jews to Madagascar” that was considered by Poland in 1937.
Egypt: Bad Boys Who do not Moderate Blog Comments
Journalist and blogger Khaled El Balshy has recently been subpoenaed by State Security and charged of slander because he did not delete a “bad” comment that was left on one of his blog posts dating back to 2007.
Puerto Rico: Superaquello Explores Cyberspace
Superaquello is one of Puerto Rico's most beloved alternative bands. Their experimental mix of traditional pop, electronic music, and typical Puerto Rican rhythms have hypnotized music lovers since the band was born in 1997. Lately Superaquello has been experimenting with something more than music: the Internet.
Trinidad & Tobago: Driving It Home
Bandwagonist.com comments on parts of the Trinidad and Tobago 2009-2010 Budget that deal with transportation.
Cuba: “Let Juanes Come!”
Generation Y takes to the streets of Havana to ask Cubans their views on the upcoming Juanes concert: “I’m glad to be in tune with my people. Let Juanes come!”
Jamaica, Barbados: Sandiford Speaks
Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp features writer Robert Sandiford in his own words.
Costa Rica: Web 2.0 on a Sunday Morning
Costa Rican bloggers, twitter users and other internet enthusiasts enjoyed their own first Domingo En La Mañana (Sunday Morning) on August 30, 2009, where they shared knowledge and experience with one another.
Belarus: Google Translations
Siberian Light is testing Google's newly-added Belarusian language translation tool.
Russia: VKontakte To Expand Internationally?
Profy writes about the plans of the Russian social network Vkontakte – a Facebook look-alike – to expand internationally.
Sri Lanka: Liberalizing The Economy
Going Global stresses the need to liberalize the Sri Lankan economy and opines that minimum involvement in business by the government is better for everyone.
Maldives: Arabization Of Dhivehi Language
“I am against Arabising Maldives’ unique language and culture, and so I will never use ‘Dhivehi alphabets with dots’ in order to accommodate Arabic language,” vows Hilath.
Bangladesh: New Paradigm Of Microcredit
Unheard Voice suggests a new paradigm of microcredit: “The agenda of development through microcredit should move from ‘microcredit-as-the-goal model’ to ‘microcredit-as-the-means model.’ The latter essentially looks at microcredit as the means to other development goals that can generate long-term economic growth.”
India: Blogs And Ad-revenues
With a cartoon post, Brainstuck takes a humorous look at the consequence for optimization of blogs to get more ad-revenues.
China: Considering Han chauvinism
"Within the ranks of CCP cadres, it's not only ethnic minorities who have been deprived of their religious rights, but the Han majority too...As a Han born and raised in China, we really don't see any so-called Han chauvinism!"
