Blogs & Ecology

The Moon Impact Probe (MIP) of the Indian space mission Chandrayaan-1 crash Landed successfully on the Moon today. My Thought Waves reacts: “Chandrayaan has made each one of us proud. We now join one of the very few countries in the world to have demonstrated the capability to carry out space missions.”

“Leadership has to be about prioritizing and making the unpopular decisions that may not help in getting you re-elected but will set the country on the right course for future growth and development”: Trevor Dawes at Abeng News Magazine wonders “why is it that the Jamaican government, regardless of which party forms it, has had such a difficult time doing right by the Jamaican people.”

21 Square thinks that “independence does not make sense for Bermuda in its present state”, while Vexed Bermoothes adds: “The PLP leadership insist that independence is the only logical endgame when most of the population do not want it.”

jack'sVolunteerWorkInArmenia details his weekend trip to Armenia's second largest city of Gyumri. Situated close to the (closed) border with Turkey, the city will next month commemorate the 1988 earthquake which devastated much of its infrastructure and left tens of thousands dead or homeless. The blog says that twenty years on, it is still going to take much longer to rebuild its shattered economy.

What will the Middle East look like 25 years from now? That was the assignment the World Policy Journal gave Mona El Tahawy for their 25th anniversary edition. Mona decided to have some fun and imagination. This is what she came up with, mixing real people in imaginary scenarios in 2033. Who knows? They might come true!

Here are excerpts from AlTahawy's blog:

Caucasus New Media says that while the world is focused on today's U.S. elections, Azerbaijani bloggers are more concerned with moves to prohibit foreign media outlets from broadcasting on local frequencies. However, the blog says that the decision might be delayed by a year and isn't yet concerned that the authorities might try to control the Internet next. Instead, it argues that with prices falling, local businesses are beginning to take new media and the Internet seriously.

In the beauty of all the Earth posts a documentary video on child birth in the rural Bangladesh. The bloggers says: “I hope you will find the time to view it and get a glimpse at what life in Bangladesh is like. I think you will also get a sense of why I so easily fell in love with the Bangladeshi people!”

Moscow Rules praises Mykhaylo Petechuk's text on Ukraine's economic situation posted on Mmd Russia Blog. Petechuk writes: “But we are skeptical about the real impact the IMF can have on three people who are competing with each other for the position of President in upcoming Presidential elections and a political class which is utterly self-obsessed. There is, therefore, every chance that Ukraine will bungle this tight window of opportunity the IMF offers and bring down upon itself total economic chaos, Russia 1998-style. We put this risk at 35% and rising every day.”

Nuon Phymean from Cambodia is one of the nominees for the CNN Hero of the Year Award. She has helped a lot of children in Phnom Penh by providing free education and job training.

Le Pangolin [Fr] posts an excerpt from Le Journal du Dimanche on a new provision that would reduce taxes for French companies that invest in developing countries, “especially in Africa.”

According to the excerpt, one logic behind the provision would be to encourage more private investment in the hopes that it could accomplish the results that foreign aid thus far failed to realize.

Le Pangolin discusses a new provision offering tax incentives to French companies who invest in developing countries [Fr] in particular Africa.  

Rajaratarala at Dream into Reality discusses some real challenges one has to face to live in a remote village of Sri Lanka.

Petro's Jotter compares Kyiv to Prague.

Ukraine's tumultuous internal politics has long stood in the way of the country's economic development - and even now, at the time of an economic crisis, there seems to be no sign of respite.

After questioning the reasons for a recent wave of prices rises in Cape Verde, bloggers were surprised last week at the news that the country is immune to the economic crisis into which the world beyond the archipelago is sinking. The claim was reportedly made by Cape Verdean Stock Market President, Veríssimo Pinto, in a debate at the national radio station. Now local bloggers want to know how this small nation can be crisis-proof and are asking: could God be Cape Verdean?