Stories from December, 2006
Ethiopia: angry at Ethiopia-Somali war
Arefaynie Fantahun writes about reaction in Addis Ababa to Ethiopia's war against Somalia, “It is not hard to know how people in Addis are angry at the war with Somalia, which they most say is bizarre and senseless. Many say they haven’t the slightest clue what this war is all...
Africa: “local” is the keyword
“Why not build the next eBay in Africa, then be “partnered” with for $40 million? Why not build the next PayPal, Google, YouTube or MySpace, when the success of such a venture is sure to realize millions of dollars?,” asks White African.
Bahamas, Guyana: Garlic pork and Guyanese politics
The vinegary aroma of garlic pork incites Bahamian Larry Smith to a Proustian meditation on the modern political history of Guyana.
Ukraine: Socialists Against Prosecutor General
Foreign Notes reports on the confrontation between Ukrainian socialists and the Prosecutor General's office.
Argentina: Private Clubs No Longer So Private
Ian Mount, who recently published an article in the New York Times about the rise of private clubs in Buenos Aires describes what he calls the “sausage factory” of how the article came about. Unsurprisingly, blogs played a big role.
Colombia: Lack of quorum sinks same-sex partnership bill
“So the bill was actually brought to the floor for a vote but some cowardly legislators jumped up and left their seats. Incredibly disappointing if not necessarily surprising.” So says Andres Duque who has been covering the proposed legislation to grant legal privileges to same-sex partnerships. The bill died last...
Cuba: The newest threat …
Greg of Two Weeks Notice links to an article on “the newest threat to Cuba” … rock climbing.
Argentina: Rare Rock MP3 Blog
Fernando Casale introduces the newish MP3 blog Incunables Posludios “whose objective is to rescue rare treasures of Argentine rock with the premise that they should be unattainable in record stores.”
Latin America: “The year that was supposed to be awful”
Ricardo Carreón (who is also trying to organize a Latin America Blogroll) begins the first post of an ambitious series: “This post starts a series of articles of Latin America during 2006. The year that was supposed to be many things, most of them negative, but ended up being a...
Hungary: Van Gogh Exhibition
Pestcentric advises against visiting a Van Gogh exhibition in Budapest.
Estonia: A New Republic Piece
Itching for Eestimaa reviews a travel piece on Estonia in the latest New Republic.
Russia: Kalmyk Deportation
Yet another sad anniversary from J. Otto Pohl: “Sixty-three years ago the Stalin regime deported the vast majority of the Kalmyk population from their historic homeland to Siberia.”
Iran:Who is the best Iranian of the year
Thanks to Aroosak Kooki blog, I have discovered a link to Iranian.com where 860 people voted for “the best Iranian of the year.” There are very interesting people on the list such as students who protested President Ahmadinejad's visit to Amir Kabir Technical University or Anousheh Ansari, the first Iranian...
Iran:Remember Bam
Several bloggers remember in their blogs about Bam earthquake,three years after disaster. Shamgahan has published a couple of photos of earthquake . The blogger asks what has been done for Bam population with all the foreign help that government received.The blogger adds, 72 hours after earthquake, government got 8 million...
Iran:Kianoosh Sanjari is Out of Jail
Sos Sanjari blog says “Kianoosh Sanjari,a young blogger and reporter who had been in prison for more than 70 days, is finally out of prison[Fa].”
Guyana: Living Guyana Media Awards 2006
MediaCritic announces the results of the Living Guyana Media Awards 2006. GV favourite GuyanaGyal wins the Blog of the Year title.
Tahiti: A New President for Christmas
Blogger Jiriki says (Fr) Tahiti got a special present for Christmas: a new President, Gaston Tong Sang. The blogger links to a profile of the new President indicating that he is an engineer who has held various minister posts in the Tahitian government since 1986. He was born in Bora...
Rep. of Congo: Allegations of Illegal Arrests
Le Pangolin posts a letter explaining (Fr) that Sargeant Mouele and two other members of the military have been arrested and detained in the Republic of Congo without the due process mandated by the Congolese constitution of 2002. The letter alleges many violations of due process including: actions by authorities...
Senegal: Irregularities in Voter Registration Records
In anticipation of the upcoming presidential election, Blog Politique du Senegal takes (Fr) a closer look at official voter registration numbers and finds that if the current numbers are to be believed, every single person of voting age in Senegal is registered. Says the blog: “It is hard to believe...
Tanzania: president is a servant
Jaduong Metty writes a letter to the president of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete, “Given your recent comments during an exclusive interview with the Guardian, in which you gave the following comment: “ British Prime Minister Tony Blair has invited me on January 16 to visit London. Should I say I am...
The Blogoma backs Nichane while the major Moroccan Media ignore it
Morocco is celebrating Eid ul Adha next Sunday, so Merry Eid from the Moroccan Blogosphere(Blogoma). Let's joke about…Baby! The controversy over Nichane continues its escalation. Actually, and according to Farid it's virtually escalating since only the Moroccan blogs are concerned whith no major Media support(Fr). The view from Fez writes...
