• Congo massacre witnesses were threatened [AP]
• UN chief urges new election date for Cote d’Ivoire [China News]
• Education not Execution: Uganda’s Defilement problem [Independent]
• Did Mbeki really support, for a while at least, the Equatorial Guinea coup attempt? [The Daily Maverick]
• Israel announces plans to limit West Bank construction for 10 months [LA Times]
• Burma engagement offers false hopes [Sydney Morning Herald]
• Indonesian government may allow mining in protected forests [The Jakarta Post]
• Haiti: UN troops shoot again [World War 4 Report]
• Blood Oil [VF]

In case you are thinking of purchasing the new global version of Amazon’s Kindle for Christmas, be aware that there are still quite a few places that the global version will NOT work.  I was disappointed to find that the new version still will not work in my country.

Apparently the new global version will only work in SOME countries.   I thought it would be helpful to most expats to have a complete list of which countries it will, or will not work in (below).

It’s also interesting to note the PATTERN of groups of countries where the Kindle doesn’t work–some countries probably lack satellite coverage or delivery systems, while others probably don’t WANT readers to be able to download whatever they want by satellite.

STARRED (*) countries marked below indicate that Kindle needs to be ordered from a SPECIAL PAGE on the Amazon site.

The Global Kindle version DOES work in (as of Dec. 2009):

Aland Islands, Albania, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Aruba, Australia*, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Boznia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Kenya, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Liberia, Leichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Moldovia, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Mozembique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Réunion, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka,  Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Virgin Islands – British, Virgin Islands – U.S.,  Wallis and Futuna, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

The Global Kindle version does NOT work in (as of Dec. 2009) the following countries:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Antarctica, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bouvet Island, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chile, Chad, China, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, French Southern Territories, Gambia, Guinea, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Isle of Man, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea – Democratic People’s Republic of, Korea – Republic of, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco (including the Western Sahara), New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Pitcairn, Qatar, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Helena, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, South Georgia and the Sandwich Islands, Sudan, Svalbard and Jan Mayan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tokelau, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, United States Minor Outlying Islands, Uzbekistan,  Yemen.

November 25 is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The white ribbon has become the symbol for the day.

Click on the picture to join the Community

Amazon's Global Kindle Reader

I heard that Amazon now has a global version of Kindle. I was disappointed to find this morning that the new version still will not work in my country.

Since I’ve wanted one for some time, but have been waiting until they got a version that would work in my country, I checked out their website this morning, only to be disappointed again. Apparently the new global version will only work in SOME countries.

In case you are thinking of purchasing the new Global Kindle for a Christmas gift this year, since the new version will only work in SOME countries, I thought it would be helpful to most expats to have a complete list of which countries it will, or will not work in.

STARRED (*) countries marked below indicate that Kindle needs to be ordered from a SPECIAL PAGE on the Amazon site.

The Global Kindle version DOES work in (as of Dec. 2009):

Aland Islands, Albania, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Aruba, Australia*, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Boznia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Kenya, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Liberia, Leichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Moldovia, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Mozembique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Réunion, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Virgin Islands – British, Virgin Islands – U.S., Wallis and Futuna, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

The Global Kindle version does NOT work in (as of Dec. 2009):

Afghanistan, Algeria, Antarctica, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bouvet Island, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chile, Chad, China, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, French Southern Territories, Gambia, Guinea, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Isle of Man, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea – Democratic People’s Republic of, Korea – Republic of, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco (including the Western Sahara), New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Pitcairn, Qatar, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Helena, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, South Georgia and the Sandwich Islands, Sudan, Svalbard and Jan Mayan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tokelau, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, United States Minor Outlying Islands, Uzbekistan, Yemen.

Due to my busy schedule this week, I haven’t had a lot of time to review French. But it wouldn’t have mattered anyway, considering that I had reached a conclusion only an hour after listening to it again:

I should have skipped this language.

Maybe it was a mistake on my part to assume that I’d find some renewed fascination from French. Maybe there was something I missed from looking at it when I was younger. But whatever the case, my brain turned off.

Here’s where we are in the project:

1. Romanian
2. Macedonian
3. Spanish
4. Vietnamese
5. Norwegian
6. Bulgarian
7. Slovenian
8. Malagasy
9. Japanese
10. Moldavian
11. Hindi
12. Finnish
13. Azeri
14. Arabic
15. Czech
16. Albanian
17. Cambodian
18. Serbian
19. Chinese
20. Xhosa
21. Portuguese
22. Armenian
23. Korean
24. Croatian
25. Afrikaans
26. Greek
27. Swedish
28. French
29. Thai
30. Turkish
31. Dutch
32. Hebrew
33. Danish
34. Filipino
35. Polish
36. Lao
37. Catalan

SUMMARY: French appeared in the Northern region of France as an “oil language” in the Middle Ages, part of a group of other Romance-based languages also spoken in the area. France at the time was invaded by a number of different tribes around Europe (Franks, Vikings, Celts, Normans, Arabs) who brought lots of new vocabulary. After standardization in the language, the development of Académie français and promulgation by royalty, French became the language of the arts and literature. Following the exploratory periods in the 1600s-1800s, French spread everywhere, extending to Africa, Asia and the Americas.

FINAL IMPRESSIONS: French is just like most of the other Romance languages in Europe. It has grammatical gender (masculine/feminine forms for nouns and adjectives) and its definite articles are Latin based (le, la, les). It is a Subject-Verb-Object language, except when object pronouns are used, in which case they are placed before the verb.

Regular French verbs have three main forms (-er, -ir, and -re) and are conjugated like this:

-er  / marcher (to walk)
marche – I walk
marches – you walk
marche – he/she/it walks
marchons – we walk
marchez – you (all) walk
marchent – they walk

-re / répondre (to respond)
réponds – I respond
réponds – you respond
répond – he/she/it responds
répondons – we respond
répondez – you (all) respond
répondent – they respond

-ir / finir (to finish)
finis – I finish
finis – you finish
finit – he/she/it finishes
finissons – we finish
finissez – you (all) finish
finissent – they finish

Verbs are normally negated by adding a “ne” before and “pas” after the verb. For example, Je ne parle pas means “I do not speak.” When the word after “ne” begins with a vowel, it becomes “n” and an apostrophe and that vowel (e.g., Il n’est pas voici, not Il ne est pas voici, which means “He is not here.”).

As far as dialectical differences, French from Belgium and Switzerland has relatively few differences, apart from different vocabulary words (in Metropolitan French, the word for 70 is soixante-dix, while in Belgian and Swiss French it’s septante). African French, more specifically, French from Senegal, Cote D’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo and other areas are more influenced by local languages, while the guttural “R” in standard French is replaced with a trilled one (like in Spanish).

The major differences appear to come from Quebecois and Metropolitan French. French spoken in Quebec has a lot of older words because it originated from Classical French spoken in the 17th and 18th centuries (a classic example is the word stop on stop signs, which is Arrêt in Quebec, while it’s just Stop in France). French in Quebec also has a lot of English-based vocabulary. While Quebecers and European French can understand each other, they are less likely to understand informal speech.

So in spite of all of this, why should I have skipped French? Well, it’s really simple, although probably traumatic for some to hear:

I just don’t like the way it sounds.

After listening to it for several hours, I got sick of it. I don’t like how so many sounds are pronounced at the front of the mouth. Other issues for me were how I couldn’t detect consonant sounds and the nasally ones in general, which seem difficult to pick up, despite me being able to replicate them. It seems like whenever I listened to French, a word would just blend right into the other. Parisian French sounded a lot sharper than Quebecois and African French, but this didn’t help.

So, I’m going to pass on this one. It pains me quite a bit because I absolutely love French culture, cinema, cuisine … Paris is even one of my favorite destinations. Perhaps I will change my mind about it. But for now, I have to bid it adieu.

But not without an entertaining video of course. The clip is from a Korean show and has women discussing differences between French dialects. Interessant. What a shame I can’t understand!

EVALUATION:
Intelligibility: 2
Complexity: 3
Resonance: 3
Continuation: 1

SOURCES USED IN THIS POST:
About.com (French)
Tex’s French Grammar
Wikipedia (French Language, Quebecois French)

COMING NEXT: Thai

In case you’ve been under a rock for the last few hours, Ireland were dumped out of the 2010 World Cup by France, who needed a 2-1 aggregate result to get past the Irish.  They got it on a ball that was handled twice by previously believed to be classy French fella, Theirry Henry.

I still can’t get over this. I always liked Henry, despite the clubs he played for. But that was just wrong, even if I were a neutral observer. Clearly cupping his hand, paddling the ball (heading out) to Gallas who knocks it into the net. Really criminal. I hope France draw Cote d’Ivoire in the WC and get stuffed the way Senegal did them last time.

Former Ireland, Celtic, and L’OM great Tony Cascarino penned a subtle piece  of level headed journalism entitled “Thierry Henry is an insincere cheat who has tarnished his reputation for good“

I’ve always loved Tony, and he’s a bit upset here (as you can imagine). “I’m no angel, but I know that I wouldn’t have done what he did. And if the roles had been reversed and Ireland had reached South Africa in such a dubious way, would I have been delighted at victory? Of course. Would I have felt it was tainted? Absolutely. … I’m gutted for Ireland and for football. “

Mary Hannigan writes: “Lest we forget, Ireland reached these play-offs by finishing second to reigning world champions Italy in their qualifying group, unbeaten in their 10 games, before having to get the better of the 1998 World Cup winners over two legs. A daunting route, it was, to South Africa, the journey ending short of its destination last night.” But wouldn’t trade for this result if I had to live out the rest of my life as Thierry Henry.

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• Controversial goal breaks Irish hearts (news.bbc.co.uk)