Stories from 3 November 2008
Russia: Social Benefits and Bureaucracy
The previous GV translation from Russia dealt with how a few committed St. Petersburg bloggers have partially succeeded in relieving the bureaucratic torture that the local elderly people with disabilities were subjected to by the state authorities. By way of a follow-up, here is a story of another bureaucratic ordeal, shared by LJ user smitrich (Moscow-based journalist Dmitry Sokolov-Mitrich).
Morocco: Viewing the U.S. Elections
On the eve of the U.S. elections, the world is atwitter - and Morocco is no exception. Bloggers based in Morocco - both Moroccan natives and foreign residents - are musing over potential election outcomes. While Morocco is also no exception to the world's preference for Obama, bloggers have a lot more to say than "Yes we can!" Jillian C. York gives us a glimpse into this North African nation.
Jordan: Meet the Foreigners, Arab Music, and Business Ideas
The number of young expatriates coming to Jordan for different purposes, commonly to learn Arabic, has become significant. Walking around Jabal Amman, you can notice them sitting in cafes and restaurants around the area. Jordandays.tv, a web television channel from Jordan came up with a programme for their website called...
Nagorno Karabakh: Armenian Bloggers on Moscow Declaration
Following Sunday's meeting between Russian President Dimitry Medvedev and his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts, the upbeat tone of the mainstream international media in reporting a declaration on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict signed by the three has not been echoed by Armenian bloggers. Indeed, if anything, most appear to consider the declaration, which reiterates existing verbal agreements between Armenia and Azerbaijan since the 1994 ceasefire, to be simply for show.
Iran: A former jailed blogger under pressure
Mojtaba Saminejad, a former jailed blogger, writes that security forces threatened his wife and him because of his blog and political ideas. The blogger adds that his wife has been under pressure by security agents to complain against him.
Guyana: Remembering David de Caires
David de Caires, founder and editor of the Stabroek News and tireless advocate for press freedom in Guyana, has died at the age of 70. Bloggers from Guyana and elsewhere in the Caribbean pay tribute to one of the most admired figures in the regional media.
Caribbean: Region Scores Big in Stanford 20/20 Cricket
U.S. billionaire Allen Stanford is trying to remake the face of cricket. His latest "big idea" is a 20/20 contest in which the winning team walks away with US$20 million (that's US$1 million per man) and the loser gets...well, nothing. It all happened this past weekend and West Indian bloggers put in their two cents' worth...
Nepal: Evaluation of OLPC Project
Open Learning Exchange Nepal (OLE Nepal) blog posts the summary of an evaluation of the OLPC Project in Nepal.
Morocco: French Weekly Banned
A Moro in America reports that L'Express International, a popular French weekly magazine, has been banned in Morocco following alleged “blasphemy against Islam's prophet.”
Pakistan: The civil society movement
Professor Ishtiaq Ahmed at Pak Tea House discusses the scope and limitations of the civil society movement in Pakistan.
Bangladesh: Election schedule announced
An Ordinary Citizen reports that clearing all the confusion the schedule for general election in Bangladesh (on 18th December 2008) has been announced.
China: Classroom Door Shut Against Peasant Children
Draq from chinaSMACK translated a Tianya post about a little girl standing outside a classroom window for 20 days because of the primary school policy on shutting the door against peasant children.
Hong Kong: A Task Force to Save the Poor Rich
Alice Poon from Asia Sentinel commented on the setting up of a “Task Force” for tackling the financial tsunami. However, the focus of the task force was on the “poor rich”.
South Africa: New Political Party is Born
A new political party is born in South Africa: “Yesterday (Saturday 1 November), marked yet another historic day in the politics of South Africa. As many had anticipated, a new political party will be born in South Africa in the Free State on December 16.”
Jamaica: Students Sex Orgy
As Jamaican police raid an alleged teen sex orgy, A Fe Me Page Dis Iyah comments: “I tell you from bad to worse, that is all I can say.”
Dominica: Creole Dress
“The Wob Dwiyet is the centerpiece of Dominica’s National Wear and is worn in a variety of different styles”: Dominica Weekly posts some photos of the island's Creole Dress Parade.
Trinidad & Tobago: All Souls Day
“Lapeyrouse Cemetery has fallen into disrepair over the last half a century; a severe indictment on a society that allows its dead to languish in squalour. But on this afternoon in November, all is well…a reassuring reminder that our dead live within us and not alone in the dusty vaults...
Cuba: Abortions
Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez meets a young woman who has had four abortions in her twenty-three years: “I was rattled by her illusion of leaving all her problems—housing, love or immigration—in the operating room, and pointed out that they are no longer doing abortions in hospitals. The reason is that...
Jamaica, U.S.A.: The Right to Vote
Jamaican diaspora blogger Geoffrey Philp wants the American electorate to remember “Esau Jenkins and all the civil rights leaders” who helped make it possible for them to vote tomorrow.
Aruba, U.S.A.: Battleground State?
Arubagirl makes a shopping trip to Florida, “a state that is a battleground in this election, as they call it,” and comes away asking: “Is this how an election is in the States? Where a 30 min INFOMERCIAL was the big news? Oy.”
Hungary: IMF Loan
Edward Hugh of A Fistful of Euros writes about the details of the IMF/EU/World Bank loan package for Hungary.
