Stories from 26 February 2007
Zimbabwe: Mugabe in 1980
Kubatana blogs posts Robert Mugabe's inspiring speech, which was delivered in 1980: Yesterday The Herald published a compilation of speeches made by Robert Mugabe during his extended stay in power. Mugabe’s address to the nation on the eve of Zimbabwe’s independence was included under the title “An enduring legacy of...
Ethiopia: plight of Tigrayans
Ethiopundit writes about the plight of Tigrayans in Ethiopia, “What Meles is describing is not a relationship with Tigrayans based on loyalty or common interest or affection but one based on coercion, fear and contempt. That is the only way that such absolute obedience can be rationally expected from any...
Uganda: Special Report on Best of Blogs
Last week, Uganda bloggers descended on Mateo's bar in Kampala for the second Uganda Bloggers Happy Hour. In addition to catching up with friends and discussing the main challenges facing the nation, the group made nominations for the first Uganda Best of Blog Awards. In a way, 2006 was the...
Palestine: 13th Anniversary of the Al Ibrahimi Mosque Massacre
Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah marks the 13th anniversary of the “first of three massacres perpetrated by Israeli settlers accompanied by the Israeli Army. There were more than 30 martyrs and 270 injured. The main massacre toke place while the victims were performing al- Fajr (Dawn) Prayer at Al Ibrahimi mosque”...
Lebanon: Academia, Agriculture and Construction
Let us begin this week’s roundup of the Lebanese blogosphere with non–political posts. Let us start from a post about two Lebanese salads that are used as appetizers during meals: Skylark shows us (Fr) how to prepare Fattush and Tabboule, which are two delicious Lebanese salads that are usually found...
Syrian Blogsphere: Free Kareem, Towards a Democratic Syria, Arabism and More
The Syrian blogsphere reacted to the news about the sentencing of Egyptian blogger Kareem Nabil Sulaiman with disgust. Abu Kareem from Levantine Dreamhouse wrote… The language of the charges is sickeningly familiar. It is the language that paranoid authoritarian governments use when they feel threatened, when someone tells the TRUTH....
Bahrain: Memoirs of a Prisoner
Bahrain-based blogger Bint Battuta shares with us one of her friend's experiences – that of being imprisoned during a period of political unrest in the country in the mid-90s here. “This evening my friend S. told me about the poetry lessons he used to give when he was in prison;...
Lebanon's War, Again
How will the Lebanese get over their past if they don't discuss it, says Syrian blogger Abu Kareem. “Many if not most Lebanese children get their education in non-secular schools that teach different versions of the history of Lebanon. All schools, however, seem to agree on one thing; when it...
China and Japan: Chinglish and Japlish
Zhaihua discusses about the differences between Chinglish and Japlish (zh). He argues that Chinglish is speaking to foreigners hoping that they can understand, but Japlish is speaking to Japanese but taking English term for their own use.
China: Ming Dynasty
Granite studio picks up a post in DANWEI about why Ming Dynasty has become so popular in China and carries on the discussion from a historical point of view.
Japan: cute icon for defence force
International Herald has an article criticizing the use of cute icon for Japan's military aspiration. Lee from Tokyo Times blogs several pictures to show that Japan has been using cute icons for their police force as well.
Saudi Arabia: Book Fair
Saudi Jeans reports about a bookfair in his country's capital Riyadh next month. “There will not be any days for families only. The book fair will be open to everybody, men and women, except for the evening period of three days which will be only open to men. I have...
China: Chinese People Misread The World, Especially Japan
ESWN translates an article written by Wang Jinsi, a director of the China War-of-Resistance-against-Japan Historical Society, which explains why Chinese people tend to misread the world, especially Japan. Some hostilities are self-generated, such as a BBS post in 2000.
Saudi: Desert Trek
Neal of Arabia, a diplomatic spouse living in the Saudi capital Riyadh, takes us on a desert trek in nearby Dubai here, complete with an overnight stay in the desert.
Saudi: Spring of Culture Festival in Bahrain
A Swedish blogger, who lives in Saudi Arabia, sings laurels to the Spring of Culture festival being held in neighbouring Bahrain, which is linked to Saudi Arabia by a 25km causeway. From what I gathered by reading the information booklet about these events it is basically a combo of poetry,...
Saudi Arabia: DiCaprio Deserves An Oscar
Writing hours before the Oscars, Saudi blogger Entropy says Leonardo DiCaprio deserves an Oscar for his roles in Blood Diamonds and The Departed.
Touring Libyan Blogs: Between history, hair, leadership, cleaning the floor and many more stories
Most of us have studied some history, many of us think we know history, but the majority of us are really ignorant about large parts of our own history. That is why the personal accounts of travellers a la Ibn Battuta style are so important to record the making of...
Bahrain: Political Activisits Released
Two Bahraini political activists have been released, following mounting pressure from supporters and international human rights groups, says Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif.
Bahrain: Workshop on Press Freedoms
The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights will be conducting a training workshop about Press Freedoms, the law and how it views freedoms of expression, practical demonstrations and tutorials on blogging and how to circumvent blocks to reach the content you require from March 1 to 5, announces blogger Mahmood...
China: face project in Shanghai
Peijin Chen from Shanghaiist reports about the expensive Oriental Arts Center in Shanghai as an example of face project in China.
China: not a heroine
Li Yinhe explains why she is not a heroine (zh): 1. all real heroes were dead; 2. she doesn't like to fight (has closed down her blog's comments); 3. not an heroic age in China.
