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Bloggers on the new US Congress and the US policy on Cuba

lingua → zht · zhs

Not much has been said in the blogosphere about how the results of the recent mid-term elections in the United States, which put the Democrats in control of Congress back in November, can affect the future of current US policy regarding Cuba. The truth is that several Democratic representatives (and some Republicans too) have been supportive of lifting the embargo and/or ending the ban on travel to Cuba, ever since the island entered a period of crisis about fifteen years ago. As Sir Ronald Sanders, former Caribbean ambassador to the World Trade Organization, observes in a piece republished on the blog of US journalist David Kinchen:

. . . US policy in Cuba is still too closely tied to the fortunes of both the Republican and Democratic parties in domestic elections for any radical change to take place soon. The votes of the anti-Castro, Cuban-American community and lobby remain influential.

Nonetheless, there can be no doubt in the minds of policy makers in the US that the global community – and the Caribbean countries especially – want to see the normalization of relations between the US and Cuba.

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Libya:A view into the blogging scene

Fozia Mohamed · 00:04 · Middle East & North Africa

The Libyan blogosphere is rich and diverse, but quietly apolitical. I'm constantly surprised at how it has sprouted during the last three years. It may have less bloggers than other countries, but the fact that some people are actually blogging is a miracle per se.

Libyans blog from inside Libya and from all the countries they currently live in as expats or citizens. You can usually figure out who is living abroad from the others.

This weekly round-up will aim to bring the Libyan bloggers from all over the world onto your screen. OK - not so ambitious, but just the most interesting/relevant stories. Remember as I said above, most Libyan bloggers do not write about politics or 'sensitive' issues yet. We shall see how that evolves especially in light of this good news. (more…)

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Links for Mon, 2006-12

East Asia

The Daily Brunei Resources blog traces the origin of Malay wedding custom of bunga telur. Bunga telur is the token gift presented to the guests who attend a wedding.

Americas

A tongue-in-cheek post by the Limey, riffing off of a incident where a chef at a Bermuda resort was thrown off the island after making a joke about putting arsenic in a meal to be served to the island's Premier, occasions a string of comments debating issues of propriety and taste.

South Asia

Reflections in a window pane on the power of video and overcoming oppression. “When the use of Video by a team of six Dalits, working for a Community Video Unit, set up by Navsarjan, Drishti and Video Volunteers transcended all barriers of caste, it brought upon relief for an entire village.”

South Asia

LIRNEasia is apprehensive about a report in the UK press which claims that Sri Lanka is prepared well if a tsunami strikes. “The best-prepared country is Sri Lanka, one of those worst hit two years ago, which has a system of transmitting warnings through its police stations.”

South Asia

Metroblogging Chennai remembers the Christmas Eve of 1987, when a famous politician died. “The size of the crowd was unimaginable - hundreds of thousands of people. The driver had to inch along. People peered in, saw us foreigners and the wreath, and parted to let us pass.”

South Asia

Democracy for Nepal discusses Humro Nepal. “It has not been registered. It does not have a budget. Both those details are intentional and are to be kept that way. It is the world's first digital democracy organization. A lot of members and outsiders still do not think of it as a “real” organization.”