Stories from 15 February 2007
Bahrain: Beware of Big Brother
Big Brother is watching Bahraini bloggers. Check what eMoodz has to say about it here.
From Lebanon to India
Respect for the rule of law is what separates Lebanon from India, according to Lebanese blogger Ms Levantine.
Lebanon: Anti-Syria Sentiments ‘Real’
Lebanese blogger Mustafa says although a rally in Beirut yesterday was tarnished by useless gimmicks, it showed that the anti-Syrian majority ‘is definitely not “fictional”.’
Qatar: US Islamic Forum
Blogger Abu Aardvark (Marc Lynch) is off to Doha, Qatar, to participate the US-Islamic World Forum. “I hope to be able to blog from Doha like I did last time, wireless permitting,” he writes.
Slovenia: Culture Day
Wu Wei writes about Slovenia's Culture Day – here and here.
The Balkans: On the Way to EU
Neretva River writes about the EU's enlargement prospects: “Serbia in the fast lane, Croatia more of the same, and road blocks for Macedonia and Bosnia.”
Albania: “Lights Out”
Our Man in Tirana writes about Albania's energy problems and invites everyone to support “the good people of Albania”: “When I was out walking a few nights ago, I decided to try to record the sound of one of the many generators on my phone. I managed to convert this...
Eastern Europe: The Islamic Peoples
J. Otto Pohl posts the second “imaginary” syllabus – “Mehmet’s Grandchildren: The Islamic Peoples of Eastern Europe and their Ottoman Roots.”
Russia: Kremin and Its Opponents
The Economist's Edward Lucas posts his piece on the Kremlin and its opponents battling in London and replies to critics in the comments section.
Russia: Dog Life
LJ user drugoi posts a photo story (RUS) about the kind man Ilya and his 44 dogs, many of them legless or otherwise disabled, living in a house outside Moscow: “For almost 20 years already he's been adopting these street dogs, treating them and leaving them to live with him....
Bahrain: Bloggers in the News
Silly Bahraini Girl links to a Poynter Online article quoting our very own GV author Haitham Sabbah.
Egypt: The Rehymenisation Fatwa
The merits of rehymenisation (yes! you read it right: restoring the hymen in females) are being discussed by Egyptian blogger Sandmonkey here.
Yemen: Journalists on Trial
Two Yemeni journalists are on trial in their country, reports blogger Said Jane here.
Arabisc: Are the Americans Bribing Arab Journalists?
Are the Americans bribing Arab journalists? And how should Arab journalists react? These are the sensitive questions posed by Jordanian blogger and writer Batir Wardam in his blog, Jordan Watch, this week as he discusses the merits of familiarisation trips for Arab journalists, paid for by the US State Department....
India: Traffic Signal disaster
Cribber has a video of a traffic signal that badly needs some intervention from the government. “This particular traffic light is on the crossing of D3 Vasant Kunj crossing. The light pole which you see is specially tilted for people to be able to see the traffic signal. This is...
India: On Valentine and Culture
A little sarcasm and great humour by the Great Bong on Valentine's Day and people “protesting” Western Culture. “An assault party from the Sawarana Samaj Party started hurling IEDs (improvised explosive devices) which burst open releasing rose thorns, hot caramel and debris from broken perfume bottles everywhere.”
Sri Lanka: Future of University Education
A Week in Sri Lanka on the future of university education. “In my view, the Sri Lankan universities today rarely encourages free thinking amongst its student population and fails to serve the original purpose of a university. I myself am an undergraduate in the University of Colombo and I have...
Nepal: Interim constitution
Bahas on the interim constitution and the Madheshi turmoil. “This was a big leap forward in Nepal’s history because it completely denies any power to the king, which signals a virtual end of the 239 year old feudal Shah dynastic rule in Nepal. Most importantly the preamble of the constitution...
Bangladesh: Politics and Blogs
Rezwan on the mood in the blogosphere with the political developments in Bangladesh. “People at Drishtipat group blog suspect that strong protests against the MOU in Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina's son Sajeeb Wajed Joy's blog may have been heard at last. “
Anniversary of Islamic Revolution and Iranian Bloggers
Several bloggers have written about their feelings, experiences and opinions about Islamic Revolution, with some celebrating its 28th anniversary on 11 February and others regreting it. Let's look at some of these writings. Mohmmad Ali Abtahi, a former vice president and reformist politician, says the Islamic Revolution was one of...
Santiago, Chile: New Transportation System
This week marked the debut of the new public transportation system, called Transantiago (ES) . The government and private companies have invested (ES) US$ 292.5 million. Changing the transportation system is a major issue, because they also had to change people's habits. No more coins, no more waiting times. No...
