22 January 2010

Stories from 22 January 2010

Trinidad & Tobago: Butter Bread

  22 January 2010

“In one of Port of Spain’s wealthiest neighbourhoods…the older, tastefully-designed homes can no longer be admired because they cannot be perceived: their garden walls are now higher than their eaves; and topped with razor wire: pass your butter bread over such a wall and it comes out the other side...

Trinidad & Tobago: Emergency SMS

  22 January 2010

Further to Taran Rampersad‘s call for Trinidad and Tobago to get an emergency SMS number, he finds out a local communications provider has plans to implement one: “Kudos if they get it up before a national disaster. Well, other than continued parliamentary disaster…”

Video: Drug legalization and life post-prohibition

  22 January 2010

There are groups of people advocating for the legalization of drugs, but what would that actually mean? From Hungary to Colombia, from youth to teachers, from cops and clergy, individuals and groups are taking to citizen media to put forth their arguments regarding this potentially controversial subject.

Sri Lanka: Tamils And Democracy

  22 January 2010

Lankanyyz at Musings from Toronto explains the reason for the claim that the Tamils in Sri Lanka don't have a voice: “the Tamil population don't have a strong political presence to represent them democratically.”

Peru: Metallica Rocked in Lima

  22 January 2010

Internationally-known rock bands do not play in Lima, Peru very often. When do they do, as the case of Metallica, interest and profits reach high levels. However, not all are pleased to see the band in the country.

Bhutan, China: Of Cyber And Border Wars

  22 January 2010

With quiet diplomacy and tact the tiny Himalayan state Bhutan took on giant China over encroachment and border issues recently. The Bhutanese officials and netizens are usually cautious to protest these issues with China, the powerful neighbor, but some netizens are voicing their dissent anonymously or under pseudonyms.

Russia: Regional Officials Urged To Go Online

RuNet Echo  22 January 2010

Russian regional officials may lose their jobs if they don't start blogging soon, Russian daily “Nezavisimaya Gazeta” reported [RUS]. Allegedly, the Kremlin is disappointed with  declining influence of traditional media in regions and it calls for government officials to adopt a new form of public life online.

Ukraine: Citizen Media and Political Forecasting

  22 January 2010

There was no lack of interest in the outcome of the presidential election in Ukraine, and, as a result, the blogosphere was overflowing with political forecasting attempts on the eve of the Jan. 17 first-round vote. Below are summaries of a selection of polls and forecasts that appeared on Ukrainian and Russian blogs.