Stories from 6 July 2006
Argentina: Music: Turista
Today I'm rocking out to the Argentine band Turista, whose new Creative Commons-licensed Dulce EP can be downloaded for free at Zona Indie.
India: Temples and religion
Temples seem to be going through a controversial time. This time, it's about a non-Hindu entering one. “National award winning actress Meera Jasmine was made to apologize and pay for purification rituals for having entered a temple in Kerala inspite of being born into a Christian family.” Drisyadrisya updates on...
India: All that cricket
Arrey Baba! fresh after the cricket match between West Indies and India in the Caribbean. “We have the world champions Australia and the no. 2 team South Africa coming here for the round robin stage, so that is gonna be a good match. “
Tajikistan: 20 Dirhams
What does 20 Tajik dirhams get you? A whole lot of trouble, says Elizabeth.
Afghanistan: Open Letter to Expatriates
Sanjar has an open letter to expatriates living in Afghanistan, coining the phrase “expatlordism” to describe what he calls a new type of oligarchy that marks the post-Taliban period in the country.
Development: Influx predicted
Curious predicts that Western countries will soon greatly increase flows of direct investment to the developing world, as economic opportunities in the developed world run out. “The west will be falling over itself to throw money into developing countries. Why? Not because of benevolence, but because of greed,” the blogger...
Kenya: Blog webring birthday
Mentalacrobatics celebrates the second birthday of the Kenyan Blog Webring, with a few facts about the on-line community of bloggers, which comprises 100 female bloggers, 123 male bloggers and 10 group blogs.
Ethiopia: Various issues
Andrew Heavens at Meskel Square points to a stunning level of vagueness on the part of the Ethiopian official media when reporting what Prime Minister Meles Zenawi actually did at the African Union leaders’ summit July 1-2. He also links to his journalistic debut for the Ethiopian news agency.
Guinea: Rights abuses reported
In response to a nationwide strike protesting increases in the prices of rice and fuel, Guinea’s security forces committed murder, rape, assault and theft against demonstrators and bystanders alike, according to the latest news release from Human Rights Watch Africa.
Armenia: Constitution Day
Onnik Krikorian reports on Constitution Day celebrations in Armenia, saying that they showed off every aspect of life in Armenia.
Yerevan: Out With the Old & In With the New
Lara of Life in Armenia decries the destruction of Yerevan's historic structures.
Ukraine: Oleksandr Moroz is Elected the Speaker
LEvko of Foreign Notes posts on the latest developments in the parliament shortly before the vote for the speaker. Socialist Oleksandr Moroz wins the position (unexpectedly for many), and LJ user vaxo (journalist Vakhtang Kipiani) sums up the situation (UKR): “The Communists – who belong in the garbage pile of...
Somalia: Al-Qaeda links claimed
Somaliland Diaspora writes that the Union of Islamic Courts (IUC) which took the Somali capital Mogadishu on June 4 is al-Qaeda-linked, and that the country could soon emerge as a worldwide haven for terrorists, along the same lines as the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Egypt: Censor The Yacoubian Building?
The Yacoubian Building, a movie based on Alaa Al-Aswani's bestselling novel, is to be reviewed by the Egyptian parliament after 112 MPs demanded censorship of the homosexual scenes in the movie. They have criticised the movie saying it defames Egypt by portraying homosexuality, terrorism and corruption, MMM said.
Palestine: Gaza: Numbers In The Dark
21,000 children will lose the chance to enroll in kindergarten and summer camps. Some 80,000 children will suffer psychological problems from fear of darkness and nightmares. 200,000 households lost the source of electricity. Food stuff storage for the basic commodities (wheat, rice, etc) will not last for more than two...
Bahrain: Minister Salary!
Bahrainis are being urged to dig deep into their pockets to support cash-strapped ministers. Silly Bahraini Girl says they are taking too big salaries and compensations.
Lebanon: Maronite church
Maronite church in Lebanon is under attack, and his church is suddenly facing an existential battle against forces determined to weaken its influence. Mind you, that would be a good thing if the aim was to separate church and state, but that is sadly not the objective, Abu Kais said.
Palestine: Arab-Asian Culture
One of the most interesting part of studying Arab culture are the numerous connections between so many other cultures. The interaction between the modally based traditions of the Arab World, Iran and South Asia has been quite rich. Laith have noticed that a lot of Arab pop music stars have...
Solar i-Pod charger
Afromusing promises to test out a new gadget: a solar powered i-Pod and mobile phone recharger.
Hunger strike & Gaza conflict
Akbar Ganji, dissident journalist and writer, invited Iranians to join him in a three day hunger strike on 14 – 16 July to attract world-wide attention to political prisoners in Iran. Several bloggers supported his proposition but some expressed their doubt about such an action. From virtual world to a...
China: Why wait for the media to tell your story when you can blog it yourself?
In this fourth and final part of Sichuan-based blogger-journalist Ran Yunfei's (冉云飞) speech given at a Chengdu teahouse earlier this year on his decades of research into the victims of the Communist Party of China‘s Cultural Revolution in the 1950s and 60s, Ran continues answering questions from the audience, and...
