· August, 2007

Stories about Weblog from August, 2007

Arabeyes: It's All in a Sign

Signs are an important means to get first-hand information or advertise messages necessary for everyday life. But what happens when the signs are misleading and don't serve the purpose they were put up for. Amira Al Hussaini takes us on a tour of blogs in the Middle East which take a closer look at signs.

Arabeyes: Just a Pretty Face

Miss South Carolina's response in the Miss USA Pageant to a question on why a fifth of US students couldn't locate their country on the map was the butt of jokes on Middle Eastern blogs today. Here's a quick review of what some bloggers had to say about her ramblings.

Greece: On Fire

  27 August 2007

We've probably all heard it in the news by now: Greece is ablaze. Today the fires reached the ancient city of Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympics and home of the Olympia Museum, which houses one of Greece's greatest archaeological collections. Athens in Flames (From flickr user alefbetac) While the...

Uganda: Bloggers Respond to Controversial Daily Monitor Articles

  27 August 2007

Uganda’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community has gotten a lot of press recently in the form of a number of articles written by Katherine Roubos, a 22-year-old Stanford student from the United States. Most recently, Roubos covered the first ever LGBTI press conference, a story that prompted an anti-gay rally in Kampala.

UK, Caribbean: Colours of Notting Hill Carnival

  27 August 2007

Notting Hill Carnival, Europe's largest summer festival, is a celebration of both Caribbean culture and London's multicultural heritage. Images posted by various Flickr users give glimpses of the carnival's colours and faces.

Syria: How Can Expats Help?

This month's topic of Creative Syria's Blogger Forum was solely dedicated to the Syrian expatriate community. "What role could expatriates play in building a better Syria? Are you satisfied with the government legislations concerning them? Are you satisfied with the performance of the Minister of Expatriates' Affairs Dr. Buthayna Shaaban?" were the questions waiting to be answered. Syria's expatriate community, albeit dispersed, counts for almost 16 million, with a very high percentage of highly educated individuals. This makes the topic ever more relevant, as their contributions can help speed up the social and economic changes in the country and help rebuild it, writes Yazan Badran.

Bahrain: Getting Into Gear and Going All the Way…

Our topics range from the highbrow to the lowlife this week, with an exhortation to read more books from across the Arab world, a child’s misunderstanding of a word in a cartoon, and an encounter with a prostitute. A new blogger has just arrived in Bahrain, and another blogger has just returned from a holiday in Iran – where he experienced rather more than he had bargained on during a taxi ride... Read Ayesha Saldanha's take on Bahraini blogs for more.

GV Advocacy: Toward a Global anti-censorship Network

  27 August 2007

During the last six months, since the launch of Global Voices Advocacy, we have been trying to cover the increasingly serious threats to online speech occurring around the globe and the efforts to combat them. We’ve documented the arrest and detention of scores of bloggers and online authors and highlighted several anti-censorship campaigns, reports of Internet censorship, blocked blogs and websites.

India: Reverse Brain Drain from America?

  27 August 2007

The Indian Ex-President Abdul Kalam was one of the many Indian scientists who stayed back and wanted this reverse brain drain. The media in the recent days has been playing a major role in bringing to light that not only is there reverse brain drain, but foreign students now want...

Korea: Koreans in UTORO

  26 August 2007

There are 203 Koreans who are in a small village, Utoro in Japan. They have lived in Utoro since their ancestors were drafted for labor during the Japanese colonization period and they couldn’t afford the fare to go back to Korea. More than 60 years later, they are about to...

China: Bringing blogging to the countryside

  26 August 2007

Three years ago this man shot to fame when he blogged a bloody murder that took place in broad daylight downtown Beijing and the botched police handling of the case. Now a veteran of the citizen reporter game, he's taking his blog on the road, to rural northern China.

Japan: Crazy for a Bug

  26 August 2007

A catchy tune about a funny-looking bug that bites people's bums and makes them happy, featured regularly as filler between children's programming on the national broadcaster NHK, is catching on like crazy across Japan. In this post, read more about the thinking behind the song, reactions from Japanese bloggers, and a post from one of the creators of the clip.

Indonesia: Kidnapping Children for Ransom

  26 August 2007

Nobody in Indonesia feels sure as to what motivates the criminals to abduct a child to serve their purpose. One thing is clear this trend is growing and it grows at an alarming pace. The “climax” of such child abduction criminal trend was the release of Raisya, a 4-year-old pre-nursery...

Japan: Yokozuna gets the boot

  25 August 2007

Never far from controversy, Mongolian Yokozuna (sumo champion) Asashoryu is again in hot water. He left Japan having submitted a doctor's note claiming he was injured, after which a video image showing the yokozuna playing soccer in Mongolia made it onto some of the major Japanese TV networks, sparking a controversy.

Bahrain: Thoughts on Sectarianism

Bahraini blogger emoodz shares with us this thoughts on sectarianism in this post I am translating from Arabic today. From a discussion over lunch, Mohammed Al Maskati discusses sectarianism and its impact on society, ending his treatise with a question with no answer: Will we Arabs ever wake up?

Russia: An “Oasis of Nonchalance”

  24 August 2007

August 19 marked sixteen years since the beginning of the Soviet Union's collapse. On this day, LJ user galerist (Marat Guelman, gallery owner from Moscow) happened to post a sketch on his visit to a rich client's estate - a sketch that, in a way, highlighted some of the changes that have - and have not - occurred since 1991.

Senegal: Africa according to Nicolas Sarkozy

  24 August 2007

Francophone Africa was awaiting anxiously the newly elected French President's arrival. Nicolas Sarkozy's reputation certainly preceded him in Africa. He was minister of the interior under Jacques Chirac and was responsible for quenching the revolts of disaffected youths (ones he referred to as “racaille” (scum)). Today Africa is still reeling...

Afghan bloggers irritated by Iranian TV series

  24 August 2007

The Afghan embassy in Iran has complained about an Iranian television series on Channel 3, Char Khoone, that depicts Afghans characters as villains. Several Afghan and even Iranian bloggers have reacted to this news. Dialogue 3, an Afghan blogger, says: Since the beginning of the summer Iranian TV has aired...