7 July 2006

Stories from 7 July 2006

India: Blank Noise Project

  7 July 2006

The anatomy of a campaign. Kiran on the Blank Noise Project, his perceptions and the larger scheme of things. “As Yashas Chandra put it at the gathering yesterday, they’re hacking society’s attitudes, one little bit at a time. Power to them. As for the revamped website, that must unfortunately wait...

Racism at the World Cup

  7 July 2006

Forum Realisance says (Fr) of the World Cup: “What shocked the French is that June 27 at the end of the match against Spain, they were received with primitive ape-like screams by … Spanish spectators! And according to French and Italian papers, the same insulting screams were heard on Plaza...

Nepal: Weddings and the public domain

  7 July 2006

United We Blog! on why the wedding of a public figure is a matter of public concern. “A Nepali Congress leader who was one of the invitees equated the party in terms of lavishness with that of the army chief’s daughter, and said this is a matter of public concern.”

Armenia: Change

Che of ArmYouth Blog says that everyone wants others to change in Armenia, but that the simplest way for change to happen is for people to make changes in their own behavior.

Pakistan: Salman Rushdie

  7 July 2006

The Organic Brew on Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children – “But my own personal perspective is that the book and its characters are really more about the great tragedy of Kashmir and her people than meet the eye at first. This is of necessity placed in the cultural milieu of India,...

Uganda: LRA public relations

  7 July 2006

We have become accustomed to seeing the government and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) as equally to blame for the continuing violence in Uganda, says Ngomrom, going on to paint a a picture more from the LRA's less-reported point of view.

Kenya: Rural-urban divide

  7 July 2006

Bankelele takes a look at the current Kenyan government–much complained about by urbanites over issues of press freedom and corruption–from the point of view of the country's farmers, and finds a slightly different story.

Somalia: Pray or die

  7 July 2006

Ethioblog and The Voice of Somaliland Diaspora both react to an edict handed down by a top cleric in the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) regime emerging in Somalia, to the effect that Muslims who don't observe prayers five times daily will be put to death. Ethioblog draws a fair...

Nigeria: A PC for all

  7 July 2006

Grandiose Parlour writes about a the Computers for All Nigerians Initiatives (CANI), a government-private sector collaboration aimed at increasing PC penetration in Nigeria, which is currently only at seven in 1,000.

FGM: Harmful Culture

  7 July 2006

The Concoction writes about female genital mutilation (FGM), providing a brief history of attitudes among the international community towards the various forms of the practice.

Ghana: Drug smuggling

  7 July 2006

E.K. Bensah has some thoughts on combating drug smuggling out of Ghana, following the arrest of popular Ghanaian singer Daassebre in the U.K. with two kilograms of cocaine.

Iran: Jahanbegloo & Prison

Omid Memarian, journalist & blogger, writes about Ramin Jahanbegloo, jailed intellectual, and his own experience in prison. The blogger writes the Islamic regime is so suspicious about the role of civil society actors such as journalists, intellectuals and academics. According to the blogger, Jahanbegloo was among the optimist scholars who...

Indonesia Double Take to Israel and Looking at the Future

  7 July 2006

Politics, sport, business towards Israel Ahmad Qisai at Politics and Society highlights the ever growing tension between Israel and Palestine and Indonesian government decision to boycot the playoff of the World Group II in Tel Aviv later this month but seems to have a double standard in case of economy....

Serbia: Symbols of the 1990s

Belgrade Blog begins a series of stories about the 1990s and their symbols in Serbia: “Popular monthypython-like TV shows of the time included jokes about trading a liter of blood for liter of gas and calling it ‘a good deal’.”

Serbia: Belgrade's Parking System

Brooke of Desperate Serbwife writes about Belgrade's unique parking system, a “hidden gem” that other countries seem not to appreciate enough to borrow: “When you park your car downtown, you pay for your parking by texting your license plate number to the parking officials and pay via your cell phone...

Russia: Putin's Controversial Order

Yuri Mamchur of Russia Blog writes about the controversy surrounding Vladimir Putin's “recent order to ‘find and destroy’ the Islamic terrorists who killed Russian embassy workers in Iraq”: “Human rights groups call [it] illegal; Duma makes it legal.”