· August, 2008

Stories about Weblog from August, 2008

Jordan: Ramadhan, Prayers and Clean Blogging

With very little to go before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadhan, which is signalled by the sighting of the new moon with the naked eye, Jordan's blogs are already abuzz with greetings, religious observations and personal promises.

27 August 2008

Kuwait: Parading Purchases at the Olympics

Arabs really love shopping, they spend hours after hours in malls, and that's why they wanted to show their shopping skills at this year's Summer Olympics. Unfortunately shopping is not included in the games, but this couldn't stop some Arabs from parading their purchases.

27 August 2008

Lebanon: Maid is Lebanese for Slave

How are some housemaids or domestic helpers being treated in Lebanon? Nash Suleiman sums up the reactions of Lebanese bloggers to this tragedy, following the release of a report on the situation by Human Rights Watch.

27 August 2008

Paraguay: President Lugo to Forgo Salary

Fernando Lugo's presidency started with an announcement that he would forgo his monthly salary. "I don't need that salary, which belongs to the poor," said Lugo. Different local bloggers see things differently, as one applauds the decision and another wonders how Lugo will pay for his own expenses.

26 August 2008

Palestine: A New Blogging Revolution

Blogger Times, a blogging magazine written by Arab bloggers, covering new developments and current issues within the Arab blogging world, has published a new story called Blogging.. a Palestinian revolution.” How is the blogging scene in Palestine and what should bloggers focus on?

25 August 2008

Cambodia: Sex workers, 100% condom use and human rights

Cambodian sex workers have taken to the internet to make their plight and fight for human rights better known. In Cambodia, a 100% condom use law which states that sexual exchanges with clients have to take place with condoms on sounds like a good idea, but it has been turned against those it is supposed to protect, by being used as a means to imprison sex workers, using the fact that they carry condoms with them as evidence for them doing sex work.

25 August 2008

Brazil: An Olympic balance

For a country whose best record was its 15th place in Athens last time, Brazil's 23th medal table position in the Beijing Olympics, with only 3 gold medals was not an extraordinary defeat - however, from newspapers to blogs, the general feeling is that of disappointment. Here are some reactions from the blogosphere.

25 August 2008

Venezuela: Antonio Lauro and His Classical Guitar

Antonio Lauro is well-known for composing waltzes for the classical guitar. As part of the group Trio Cantores del Trópico, Lauro managed to contribute to the Venezuela's musical heritage converting original European structures into melodies that sound very much like the Venezuelan idiosyncrasies. He toured extensively around neighboring countries to spread the sounds of Venezuelan music.

24 August 2008

Arabeyes: The Olympics, Pride, Equality and Hope

Millions around the world were glued to their television screens watching their favourite athletes at this year's Beijing Olympics, which just closed. What did Arab bloggers have to say about the world's premier sporting event and their country teams? Following are a few reactions.

24 August 2008

Georgia: Regional Reporters

The conflict between Georgia and Russia over the breakway territory of South Ossetia were accompanied by cyber-attacks on several Georgian official government and independent media sites. But rather than prevent journalists from utilizing the Internet to report on the war, it achieved the opposite. Many Georgians -- media professionals and citizen journalists alike -- set up blogs to report or comment on the conflict.

24 August 2008

Lebanon: Israel threatens while Syria seeks to buy arms

"What’s cooking?" is probably the most common question people in Lebanon are asking since Israel Environment Minister Gideon Ezra’s speech few days ago and the recent news of the Russian-Syrian arms deal. Last week, Minister Ezra said that the Lebanese state will be considered a target if it legitimizes Hizbullah (which the Lebanese government did). On the other hand, Russia has announced that it is ready to sell new weapons to Syria. What do Lebanon's bloggers have to ay about those developments?

24 August 2008

Georgia: Dispatches Under Russian Occupation

When Russian forces rolled into the strategic Georgian town of Gori, information on the occupation was scarce. Journalists died during Russian bombing runs in the military campaign leading up Gori's capture, others were shot at, and access to the town was not only limited, but also perilous with South Ossetian, Chechen and Cossack militia hijacking cars and robbing occupants. The posts by the radio station's Goga Aptsiauri are a fascinating account of life under Russian occupation. In his final post made two days ago, Aptsiauri reports that the Russian military had finally left.

24 August 2008

Palestine: Boats break siege of Gaza

The latest news on the two boats attempting to sail to the Gaza Strip as an act of solidarity is that they have reached Gaza, despite earlier warnings that they might not be permitted to do so. Bloggers have reacted to the action with both excitement and concern.

23 August 2008