19 July 2006

Stories from 19 July 2006

Colombia: Cyber-war

  19 July 2006

Colombian blogger Bluelephant says (ES) that a group of Muslim cyber-criminals called “The Islamic Brigade” is carrying out selective attacks on weblogs with a pro-Israel political line: “They erase them and publish personal information about the authors. Among those affected are various friends from simply Bloom (e.g. http://kozure.blogspot.com, http://herut.blogspot.com, http://heruth.blogspot.com....

Guatemala: Returning Home Via the Web

  19 July 2006

Alfa notes that many Guatemalans living abroad use the internet (ES) to seek information about family members, recipes of favorite dishes, and photographs of their hometown. The post includes several websites catered to Guatemalans living abroad.

Mexico: AMLO vs. Al Gore

  19 July 2006

Like many others, Wave Making compares this year's election in Mexico with the contested 2000 election in the United States. (Also available in Spanish) Ana Maria Salazar has another thorough summary of the day's news in Mexico.

India: Podcast on the block

  19 July 2006

Kamla Bhatt does a podcast on the block on accessing blogspot in India. She interviews four people and gets information on the timeline, events and work arounds.

Israeli Women Blog the War, in Russian

The Israeli blogosphere has a Russian-language corner: quite vocal, it is populated mainly by those who emigrated from the former Soviet states in the past few decades. Below is a selection of posts about the war, written by Israeli women, in Russian. LJ user gollitely (Lena Lagutina, Jerusalem) – July...

Pakistan: Get by with a little help from my friends

  19 July 2006

The ban on accessing blogspot blogs seems to have brought Pakistani and Indian bloggers a little closer. Help-Pakistan.com says “In light of the recent blogspot ban in India, the blogging community in Pakistan would like to present as a gift to the Indian blogging community a small script that can...

Bermuda: Paradox of plenty

  19 July 2006

The Limey's latest “Open Mike” topic is “the paradox of plenty”, tabled by contributor “Tiger Bay”: “Resource-rich countries, such as oil producers, often develop slower than less endowed countries. Quite simply, the wealth distorts good governance and decision making. . . .“

The Lusosphere reports on the 10 years of CPLP

  19 July 2006

The Community of the Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) celebrated its tenth anniversary last Monday, July 17th, in a summit that gathered its Heads of State in Guine-Bissau. It was created aiming at the solidarity of the Portuguese-speaking countries and the promotion of the Portuguese language in the international arena. Currently,...

Cameroon: Debt Cancelled by Canada

  19 July 2006

Fojrega writes (Fr) that: “Canada's Minister of Finance announced tuesday that he was cancelling the USD 198.9 million debt that Cameroon owed Canada.” Cameroon fulfilled enough conditions to become the 12th country eligible for Canadian debt forgiveness including: “progress in economic reforms, especially corruption and improvement in the drawing up...

Panama: Music: Gonzalo Horna

  19 July 2006

Gonzalo Horna presents his blog to keep in touch with his fans and to spread his music around the globe. What is very interesting about the panamanian songwriter, is the honest lyrics, rythms and mixture of rock-ballad-latin-and-acoustic elements in his music, delivering a new meaning to the rock scene in...

Barbados: School days

  19 July 2006

Jdid remembers his school days in Barbados, when his main worries were pitching marbles and avoiding “liks” from the teacher.

Bahamas: A drug lord's legacy

  19 July 2006

In light to recent rumours that notorious Colombian drug lord Carlos Lehder was seen partying at a Bahamian resort, Larry Smith discusses Lehder's “Bahamian legacy”: “The bottom line was that one of the world's biggest criminal enterprises, managed by one of the world's highest-profile crooks, was able to operate with...

Haiti: Reporter Jacques Roche Killed a Year Ago

  19 July 2006

Collectif Haiti de Provence points to an article stating (Fr): “To commemorate the first anniversary of the killing of poet and journalist Jacques Roche this July 14, the organization SOS Journaliste organized a forum at Le Plaza Hotel on the theme Security of journalists, impunity and disarmament.”

Haiti: NGOs Financing Violence

  19 July 2006

Collectif Haiti de Provence points to an article stating that (Fr): ” The violence in poor neighborhoods is financed by NGOs operating on the ground according to the Senator of the Ouest Department. Funds destined to development projects in those neighborhoods are being misused to those ends.”

France: The Beginnings of Affirmative Action

  19 July 2006

Says (Fr) France-based Senegalese blogger Seckasysteme about the allegedly affirmative-action induced hiring and debut of Black French newsanchor Harry Roselmack on French national television: “Roselmack's (…) professional competence and the recognition he has earned from his peers is so obvious that even the detractors of affirmative action are starting to...