Stories from 6 September 2010
Guatemala: Guatereporta Uses Crowdsourcing to Report on Crime and More
InteractivaWeb [es] describes GuateReporta [es], a site where users can report robberies, protests, murders, car crashes, traffic and other events on a map.
Hungary: Heterosexual Pride March
Marietta Le reviews blog coverage of the "Heterosexual Pride March" held in Budapest this past Saturday.
Russia: Reactions to the “Buckwheat Panic”
The article reviews the blogosphere's response to the "buckwheat panic" that emerged due to the rising prices of this type of cereals.
Japan: Ancient medical woodblock prints
Pinktentacle published [en] some images of a health-themed woodblock prints collection that dates back to the 19th century. The series of 400 prints is maintained by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and “offers a unique look at Japanese medical knowledge in the late Edo and early Meiji periods.”
Pakistan: The Diaspora Power To Help Flood Victims
A. A. Khalid at Pak Tea House highlights the efforts and the importance of the Pakistani diaspora across the world in mobilizing collection of donations and helping the flood victims.
India: Ruling Like A Monarchy
“Lessons from the past history of independent India has proved time and again that Rahul Gandhi’s family and the party it runs like a microcosmic monarchy never had the convictions or alacrity to rise above anything other than grabbing and staying in power,” comments Words From Solitude.
Bangladesh: Chawk Bazar Iftar Market
Back To Bangladesh posts some mouth watering pictures of the traditional Chawk Bazar Iftar Market in old Dhaka.
India: Are e-Governance initiatives delivering on transparency and accountability?
In India, government agencies are embracing social media and other information and communication technology (ICT) platforms to engage citizens, optimize service delivery and reassure the public with respect to the government's transparency and accountability. But what has been the true impact of these initiatives?
Mexico: Heavy Rainfall Causes Flooding in Veracruz and Tabasco
Mexican Twitter users are reacting to heavy flooding in the states of Veracruz and Tabasco. They are also commenting on a recent visit by President Felipe Calderón to affected areas in Veracruz.
El Salvador: Reality Behind Appearances
The blog El-Salvador [es] discusses the difference between what tourists and other occasional visitors see in El Salvador (fancy malls, four-star hotels, expensive cars, big homes and people wearing international brands) and the reality lived by the majority of Salvadorians.
Africa: Africans Share Childhood Memories Online
That African Girl is a blog with a series of posts written by Africans around the world about their childhood. It is a blog about growing up in an African family and learning to live in two worlds.
Ecuador: Afro-Ecuadorians in Valle del Chota
Carla Badillo Coronado posts a set of photos in her blog Mujer en Tierra Firme [es], showing the Afro-Ecuadorian people of Valle del Chota.
Barbados: Six robbed; left to die in fire
Barbados remains shell shocked today as it struggles with the reality that what local media are calling "a scene straight out of the drama series CSI" could happen in the relatively peaceful island. What appears to have started as a robbery turned into a murder scene as the suspects reportedly set the building ablaze before fleeing, leaving the victims trapped inside.
South Korea: Emotional Rifts during National Thanksgiving Day
As the nation’s biggest holiday ‘Chuseok’, Korean version of Thanksgiving day approaches, families have already started giving each other emotional scratches over the ancestral worship and the tomb maintenance issue. Family members are arguing over who to take care of the tomb trimming and whether they will grant a pardon to Christian members to absent from ancestral worship.
Trinidad & Tobago: Supporting Young Writers
“It’s an ambitious endeavour, aimed at making a crucial intervention in Trinidad and Tobago’s literary scene and education system”: The Caribbean Review of Books interviews Lisa Allen-Agostini about her admirable initiative, ‘The Allen Prize for Young Writers’.
Trinidad & Tobago: Buffalypso
“Where oh where have the Buffalypso gone?”: TriniGourmet.com wants to know.
Cuba: Castro's Speech
As Fidel Castro delivers a speech to students on the steps of the University of Havana, Uncommon Sense says that the speech only mattered “because it gives the world a chance to remember and honor three real Cuban heroes: Luis Labrador, Eduardo Pérez and Michel Rodríguez.”
Jamaica: “Hostages in a Patty Shop”
Active Voice blogs about a “farcical scenario [that] played itself out in downtown Kingston” when armed men took over a patty shop – and the ensuing discussion on Twitter.
Guyana, Jamaica: Literary Peace Prize
The Signifyin’ Woman, upon learning that Marlon James’ ‘The Book of Night Women’ is listed as a finalist for the 2010 Dayton Literary Peace Prize, asks: “Can there be such a thing as a book worthy of being prized for promoting peace? Better yet, can a work of fiction be...
China: Tian Xi Deserves Happiness
23-year-old Tian Xi is an AIDS patient who was inflected with HIV in 1996 upon receiving a blood transmission in a hospital in Xincai county, Henan province.
China: The arrest of Xie Chaoping
A Chinese writer, Xie Chaoping, was arrested by Shaanxi Police for his book on “The Great Relocation”. ESWN has translated the story.
