Stories from 21 February 2007
Kuwait: Bidding Eight Years of Fun Goodbye
Kuwait's Desert Girl has sold her car – after “8 years of fun: of donuts in the desert; of boys chasing us; of us out-driving boys to the point where they gave up after endless laps around roundabouts and mall parking lots; of maniacal driving on the way to/from chalets,...
Morocco: Election Rigging?
Issandr El Amrani links to an article which claims that Morocco is catching up on gerrymandering here.
Egypt: Vatican Visit Planned
A top Egyptian clergyman, Shaikh Mohammed Tantawi, has accepted Pope Benedict XVI invitation to visit the Vatican, reports Egyptian blogger Ibn Ad Dunya. He said the mini- summit “will hopefully help ease up some of the tension between the religions.”
India: On Corporate Political Responsibility
The Indian Economy Blog on corporate political responsibility. “But where are the think-tanks, the public policy schools, the social science research endowments and sponsored professorships? To its credit, corporate India has foundations working on setting up village schools or improving rural infrastructure. While these are commendable, they are no substitutes...
Rigoberta Menchu as Candidate?
Rigoberta Menchu 1992 Nobel Laureate by “ladyloneranger“ In the early 20th century, the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo quit wearing her Western clothes to adopt a more indigenous appearance, showing her heritage with pride, not in the genetic sense, since she was not indigenous at all, but with the pride of...
Pakistan: Train to Pakistan
I, Me, Myself on the train to Pakistan. “I can not help comparing this against the kind of security that was provided by the government of the Pakistani province of Punjab to the ‘Sikh Pilgrim Special’ train, aboard which I travelled across the border in April 2006. Each bogie had...
Guatemala: Food Photos
Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo (recently nominated for a 2007 photobloggie) has two mouthwatering shots of local cuisine.
Guatemala: Linux Beginners Conference
Summing up today's newbie conference on Linux in Guatemala City [ES], “El Profe” laments the low turnout of students, but says those who did show up were impressed by Beryl on Gentoo.
Venezuela: 21st Century Socialism?
“No serious debate about socialism can be developed as if we were still in the XIX century, when there still hadn’t been any concrete experience of it anywhere. Not now. It is impossible, at the dawn of the XXI century, to talk about socialism while making an abstraction of what...
Israel: Did You Know..
Israeli blogger Yael K gives us interesting information tidbits here, including how Hebrew was a required language at all American universities as the “Puritans who settled the U.S. saw themselves as the “new Israelites” and the United States as the new Zion–and thus the hebrew language requirement.”
Bangladesh: Painted with my brother's blood
Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying on the song of freedom, love and loss. “There is a song that every Bangladeshi knows. It is a song that defines us as a people. It is a song about love and loss. The song in Bengali is called Amar Bhaier Rokte...
Bangladesh: On beards and Islam
a bengali in TO presents a woman's take on beards. “Call me a firebrand, but I think beards are just ridiculous when they are worn as a sign of being a Muslim. Hijaabs as a gauge for your “Muslimity”, I understand and approve. I understand the moral and practical reasoning...
Israel: Anglosaxy's Job Trouble
Israel-based blogger Anglosaxy continues to battle it out with his boss (who apparently is trying to push him out of a job) here. He even found an advert for his job on his department's server!!!
Egypt: Military Tribunal for Policeman
An Egyptian policeman has been referred to a military court because he refused to guard the Israeli embassy in Cairo, writes Issandr El Amrani in The Arabist.
Sri Lanka: Turtles!
Ayubowan on Sri Lankan marine turtles – “The present situation regarding the future of the Sri Lankan turtles is moving to an optimistic conclusion with the people of the country taking a more environmental friendly attitude towards these creatures and putting away the superstitions that cause them their reduction in...
Egypt: In the Name of America
Sandmonkey entertains us with the tale of an Egyptian university professor who wrote In the Name of America (as opposed to In the Name of Allah) on a board in one of his classes. I really thought blackboards were obsolete. Never mind!
Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Bloggers
Blogger Abdulmonem Mahmood lists a number of Muslim Brotherhood blogs which have sprung up in Egypt recently here.
Malaysia: Moral Police
Unspun compares the religious moral policing in Malaysia with the relatively liberal attitude in Indonesia.
Turkey is Typing…Midnight Express, Sweaters, and a Jar of Peanut Butter
What do the above items have in common? All of them and much more will be part of our hodge-podge edition of Turkish is Typing. A couple of our bloggers have mentioned the film Midnight Express in their tomes lately, due to a new interview with the subject of the...
Tanzania: Tanzanian blogger in Europe
Tanzanian blogger in France, Aulelia, writes about race issues in Europe, “Europe is a cauldron of racial problems. Chuck in the kerosene of the 2001 race riots in Bradford in the UK and mix in the ether of the French race riots in the banlieues (suburbs), and you will get...
Malawi: radio program about Malawians abroad
Ndagha writes about a new radio program about Malawians abroad: “‘What do people eat there?’ ‘How do you manage the snowy weather?’ ‘Do you eat nsima?’ ‘Is it true school is free?’ ‘Are you the only Malawian there?’ ‘Can you send us some Dollars please because you guys are rich...
