Stories from 6 April 2006
India: Loyalties
Indian Muslims on the position Muslims find themselves in India – “The two Muslim teachers gave application asking for leave for Haj were asked by the Education Officer, a woman, to given an undertaking that they would not indulge in any anti-national acitivity during the period of their leave.”
Saudi Arabia: Woman Car Drive
Mahmood quotes a Saudi daily news paper which said: “Despite the presence of a large number of Saudi women drivers in Bahrain, not a single case of traffic violation has been registered against them.” Mahmood then wonders, will it take an act of God Himself to get the Saudis to...
Saudi Arabia: OSCAB
Seems that many Saudi bloggers are not happy with the new Official Community of Saudi Bloggers (OSCAB).
Palestine: Palestinian Child Day
This year, the circumstances surrounding Palestinian Child Day are no different – our children continue to feel the pain of occupation. Israeli forces continue to deprive children of their right to life – since the start of this year alone, 12 children have been killed, bringing to 740 the total...
Iraq: Samuel Johnson Prize
Riverbend was shocked to find out the book “Baghdad Burning” had made the short list for the Samuel Johnson Prize- a prestigious, British award for non-fiction.
Yemen: Threat To Species
Omar Barsawad says that Hadhramout's ecosystem too, is in danger of being overwhelmed. For the last twelve years, Omar have never seen a hyena around; and yet before he could see one every now and then; and now too, he's seeing fewer and fewer foxes and wild rabbits. Each year...
China: Legal reform
Chen Yongmiao posts on his Constitution Blog a letter he sent recently to lawyer John Wei Chien-feng, former president of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, on behalf of some of China's leading democracy activists and legal experts in which he states the need for democratic reforms, suggests some practical...
China: Media censorship
A message on the front page of alternative news website Zheteng says the site was forced to close on March 31 due to “illegal” content, but was allowed to reopen the next day once the content concerned had been erased. Zheteng was the only mainland media outlet in attendance at...
China: Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai's death thirty years ago this year gave rise to the April 5th movement. Or was it May 4th? The Useless Tree gives us a refresher, and more. “There are no official commemorations of the 1976 demonstrations in the PRC today. The official party line is that the April...
China: Unexplained deaths
The Opposite End of China gathers coverage of last week's discovery of 121 skulls in a forest in northwestern China's Gansu province which tests show belonged to women and children. “So, what's the deal?” asks the blogger. “Is there a psychotic serial killer on the loose in northwest China? Is...
China: Human Rights
The Asiapundit observes that according to a think-tank run by the Chinese Communisty Party, Japan's human rights record is by far the worse of the two countries. “Actually,” the blogger continues, “the official website of the government-sanctioned Chinese Society for Human Rights Studies doesn't really keep official statistics on human...
China: Blog service providers
uleewang at Non-violent Resistance blogs on Chinese blog service provider BlogBus’ new blog moving service: “It's pretty obvious what this could mean to the domestic blogsphere. If you are not happy with your current BSP, you can move house with the least hassle — in a matter of 20 minutes...
China: Qing Ming festival
In ‘Hell Money,’ Outside In blogger Jo gives a rundown of Qing Ming (grave sweeping festival) past, present and future.
MSM Iraq coverage: Bloggers give thumbs down
On Wednesday evening New York Time at the Reuters headquarters in Times Square, bloggers from around the world joined in a live panel debate over whether the media is telling the real story in Iraq. See the Reuters news story summarizing the event here and a blog post about it...
Russia: Cheap’n’early DVDs
Konstantin Dlutskiy of Russian Marketing Blog reports on the long-awaited alternative to pirated DVDs: “Cheap’n’early DVDs from Universal Pictures cost 150-200 rubles per disc (~$5,5 – $7,2). They are of lower quality and are released only four weeks after the first night.”
Russia: How Russians View Stalin
W. Shedd of The Accidental Russophile writes on how today's Russians perceive Stalin: “The attitude I have witnessed seems to be: ‘Yep, Stalin was bad, but that was a long time ago and what can you do about it? Things are different now … and you, as an American should...
Poland: Lem and Other ‘Unique But Aging Voices’
Warsaw Crow writes about the death of Stanislaw Lem, the great Polish science fiction writer, and muses on Poland's other “unique but aging voices.”
Hungary: Hangover Cure
Pestiside.hu reports that a drink capable of saving one from hangover has been created by Hungarians: Soberguard, […], combats the symptoms of a hangover (macskajaj) by ‘cataliyzing the enzymatic alcohol metabolism pathways’.”
Hungary: “Real Community Politics”
As the Danube water continues to rise, Paul of Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar thinks various Hungarian parties’ activists have a chance to get involved in “real community politics” on the eve of the election.
Albania: Modern Bride Joke
Annabengan at annasblog tells an Albanian joke about what's considered a “modern” bride. The joke does reflect the reality and the reality isn't likable: “Albanian modern brides – husbands’ sex objects instead of house slaves of their families? Come on – there MUST be some other roles to pick from!?”
Serbia & Montenegro: Visa Regime
Viktor of Belgrade Blog writes about what it takes for an average Serb to get a visa to travel to the EU. He also has an advice to those who are visiting Serbia: “Fact: more than 70 percent of Serbian students never traveled outside the country borders. […] So, when...