22 July 2010

Stories from 22 July 2010

Barbados: missing butterflies

  22 July 2010

My Rustic Bajan Garden wonders if a decline in numbers of butterflies is a worrying sign for Barbados. “The absence of these creatures is a strong indicator that all is not well in our environment.”

Pakistan: Perceptions And Accountability

  22 July 2010

Kiss My Roti says that the perceptions of “terrorism” and militant violence in Pakistan is shaping the social, political and cultural response to it by the Pakistanis. The blogger asserts the need for “a paradigm shift in narratives from assigning blame to accepting responsibility”.

Bahamas: Forward poet

  22 July 2010

Geoffrey Philp shares the news that Bahamian poet Christian Campbell has been shortlisted for a Forward Prize, and the Caribbean Review of Books blog links to one of Campbell’s poems.

Bahamas: on “race”

  22 July 2010

“Please. Don’t call me white.” Nicolette Bethel writes about the intricacies of race, history and politics in the Bahamas. “The ‘race’ that has historical significance and the ‘race’ that we appear to practice today are two very different animals.”

Guyana: Honey and Lime

  22 July 2010

Signifyin’ Woman offers her thoughts on Honey and Lime, a book of poems by the Guyanese writer Peggy Carr: “A poem is its own unique, economical world.”

Blog Carnival: Colombia, Women and the Web – A Summary

  22 July 2010

There seems to be a concern among Colombian women about defending their rights and about increasing the number of women who can use the Internet and new media to express themselves and take advantage of the benefits this medium offers, like other women do in other countries. This is evident after going over 21 posts submitted for the first carnival of blogs organized by Global Voices in Spanish: Blog Carnival: Colombia, Women on the Web. Take a look at what these bloggers had to say.

Mozambique/Brazil: “Ethanol diplomacy” meets criticism

  22 July 2010

NGOs furiously denounced last week's trilateral accord between Brazil, Mozambique and the European Union promoting ethanol production in Mozambique for the European market. The blogsphere provides some background to this "ethanol diplomacy" and questions its future social and environmental impacts.

Sri Lanka: Bravo Murali!

  22 July 2010

“On the last day of his last test match, Sri Lankan bowler Muttiah Muralitharan picked up his 800th test wicket, an unprecedented feat,” celebrates Sepia Mutiny.

UK: No Reckoning for Police Excessive Force

  22 July 2010

Today marks five years since the shocking shooting death of Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes by London police. The Brazilian blogosphere has yet to respond. Random Blowe reminds that no official has been held responsible, and compares to the G20 brutality case in which it was just announced there will...

Nigeria: Nollywood movies online

  22 July 2010

TechMasai writes about Izogmovies: “Izogmovies is a Nigerian start-up which streams Nollywood movies online. At Izogmovies you can watch one free film after sign up, or pay the membership fee to access their entire database.”

Africa: Brain drain and African governance

  22 July 2010

Gregory Simpkins argues that African governments spend an average of US$4 billion a year to hire about 100,000 Western experts to handle functions, which could have been performed by the African professionals in the Diaspora.

Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand

  22 July 2010

Ladprao 64 writes about the situation of Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand and the role of the two governments in facilitating the welfare of the workers. The blogger also describes the difficulty in sending remittances from Thailand to Myanmar