Stories about Weblog from February, 2007
Iraq – Life, Death, Rape and Execution
Stories of life in Iraq have been so varied this past week. In this post I hope to give a cross section on how life is for Iraqis in a world of violence and general insecurity. My condolences go out to Konfused Kid whose uncle, the only Shia in the...
Kuwait: From Novel Ads to the History of Bloggers
Q from Kuwaitism takes us on a flash back in time to when advertisements in Kuwait were creative and attractive. This time I’ll post an ad for Kuwait Airways that I liked a lot, when they first started their route to Paris back in 1965. Yet we are pulled back...
Russia: One Blogger's Dream Come True
LJ user bogomolov (Aleksandr Bogomolov, a Russian journalist) shares this story about a dream come true (RUS): An old joke, very good, very clever: Two Soviet violinists are in the same train compartment, on the way back home from abroad, from an international music competition. The first one, a “plainclothes”...
Love troubles female blogger; floods, politics and petty jobs worry Malawians
Based in the UK and studying Information Systems, Mercy Gondwe might be the only female Malawian blogger noted so far. While she has not been active she woke up on a day before Valentine's day to reflect on the day of romance. Mercy says she had to be careful with...
Free Kareem: The Caribbean joins in
The Caribbean blogosphere tends to focus on internal matters, but the plight of Egyptian blogger Abdel Kareem Suleiman struck a chord nevertheless with a few bloggers, including Cuban-American journalist Marc Masferrer, who posts frequently on human rights issues relating to Cuba. On February 19, Masferrer encouraged readers to sign a...
Free Kareem: Lusophone Blogs Join the Crusade
As soon as the information about the verdict circulated on the net, Portuguese posts commenting the 4 year in prison sentence given to blogger Abdel Kareem Suleiman started to appear. Brazilian bloggers sensitiveness about any situation involving censorship is a direct consequence of the many recent attacks to their freedoms...
Bahrain: ‘Terrorist Plot’ Sparks Cynicism
Following a controversial news report about the discovery of a ‘terrorist training camp’ in one of Bahrain's Shi'a villages, Bani Jamra, Bahrain's ‘blogfather’ Mahmood Al Yousif writes a sarcastic post proclaiming his gratitude to Bahrain's Ministry of the Interior for making Bahrain a safer place: I am ever so grateful...
Taiwan: Flying Saucer Houses
Photographed by CantikFoto In Green Bay, Taipei County, there are some abandoned houses. Due to their appearance, they have been named ‘flying saucer houses’ by many people in that area. According to Echo-Maan, who lived in that area decades ago, the houses were built around 30 years ago by Tian...
Kazakhstan, the Soviet: “Stalinkas” and “Khrushchevkas”, Afghanistan and the Red Army Holiday
Save the Houses Photo by Adam Kesher Blogger Adam Kesher is displeased: the “Stalin's” house next to his own is going to be replaced by a new fancy building. These houses, built before the Second World War (1935-1938) or after (till 1955) are notable for their scale, high ceilings so...
Madagascar: despite series of unfortunate events, bloggers are still upbeat….
Greetings all, This is my first post on Global Voices. I am fortunate and quite thrilled to have the opportunity to share with you the perspective of the Malagasy blogosphere. Unfortunately, the current news from Madagascar are quite sad. The main topic of discussion on the Malagasy web is the...
Nigeria: Internet Exchange, Making Money, Abuja, Political Endorsement, And the Niger Delta
We begin this week's blog round-up with Timbaland‘s entry about Nigeria Internet Exchange. It so happens that I desire to create an Internet utopia in Nigeria. I have a dream of providing Internet access to every Nigerian citizen. This became stronger when I was having a discussion with a friend...
China: Disgraced Party member promoted?
Last autumn, Qin Zhongfei, a low-ranking civil servant in Pengshui County of mid-western China's Chongqing Municipality, wove some sarcastic political humor into a poem and sent it out to a few dozen friends via text and instant message. Charged with slander by then County Party Secretary Lan Qinghua, one of...
The Jordanian Blogosphere: February Clippings
The Jordanian blogosphere is abuzz with two controversies this month. The first revolves around the proposal to build a tourist complex near the Dibbin Forest that will result in the cutting down of many trees. While a small online campaign has started up in recent days, other bloggers see the...
Peek at Poland: Time to Make the Pączki
“Polish Doughnuts” by Polska*ポーランド*Poland For at least one moment in the dark days of winter, life is sweet in Poland. Marking the last Thursday before Lent, Tłusty czwartek (or, Fat Thursday) is a day of over-indulgence in sweets. This past Thursday, in scenes disturbingly reminiscent of Communist days, the local...
Hindi Blogoshere: Going Places, Tag Epidemic & Indibloggies!
Sorry for the late update, I've been busy off late & then went to a weekend holiday, so wasn't able to do my fortnightly roundup of the Hindi Blogosphere. So without much ado, lets have a crack over the happenings of Hindi Blogosphere in the last fortnight! Disturbed with the...
Pakistan: Online freedom of speech as collateral damage?
This flash animation is converted from the Powerpoint Presentation made by Dr Awab Alvi for “The Battle for the Internet.” conference (His presentation can be viewed here-original file .ppt) One year ago, on the 27th of February 2006, when the Danish cartoons controversy exploded, spawning waves of protest, anger...
February in Lima: Carnival, Day of San Valentin and Politics
Waiting for San Valentín / Esperando a San Valentín A previous summary of the Peruvian blogosphere, dedicated almost entirely to “Operation Audacious Employee,” generated several interesting comments which highlighted certain points that were not very clear or that caused legitimate confusion to people who are not familiar with Peruvian society....
Ukraine: Corruption (Cont'd)
A week ago, there were about 200 comments on Yuri Zushchik's post on corruption at the National Bank of Ukraine (including an irrelevant but lively discussion of IKEA – which is yet to open in Kyiv, by the way). Today, there are 320 comments, and the following exchange (RUS, UKR)...
Iran: War and Human Rights Concerns
Concerns about a war between Iran and the US are growing in the Iranian blogosphere by the day. While Iran refuses to halt its uranium enrichment programme, despite the United Nation's resolution 1737, it is also being accused by the US of sending bombs to Iraq. Iran considers the enrichment...
Cracker attacks the Colombian blogosphere
Lully, from Reflexiones al Desnudo, a renowned Colombian blog which has been featured in BlogsColombia as “best blog,” had her blog hijacked and sabotaged this past weekend and it has now disappeared. Where you could previously read well written memoirs and stories with an erotic tint, a message appeared stating...
Arabisc: Bloggers Rally to Kareem's Support
Egyptian blogger Kareem Sulaiman was today (Thursday) sentenced to four years in prison for defaming Islam and Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak on his personal blog. Despite a support site, petitions and demonstrations in Bahrain, London, Stockholm, Paris, Rome, New York (twice) and Washington DC calling for his release, an Alexandria...