Stories from 14 March 2007
Morocco: Child Beggars – A Lucrative Business
Approximately 15% of beggars under the age of seven are hired workers and are paid between 50 and 100 dirhams per week to beg for their employers, writes Samir in The View From Fez.
Tunisia: Prison Visit Blocked
Or Does it Explode reports to us how Tunisian officials blocked a prison visit recently here. “(A) delegation of the Tunisia Monitoring Group – an international alliance that tracks repression of free expression in the land of Ben Ali – tried to visit imprisoned lawyer Mohammed Abbou. Readers may recall...
Palestine: It's All in the Kuffiyeh
Trent Reznor, lead singer of one of the greatest bands of this generation, Nine Inch Nails, rocks the kuffiyeh (black and white head gear associated with Palestine) in his latest video – “Survivalism”, writes Nadeem at Kabobfest. “Given the fact that he's a well-known/outspoken anti-war activist who's already both hip...
Iran:Several teachers were arrested
According to Khorous a few hundreds security agents repressed teachers’ demonstration in front of Parliament[Fa] and several of them were arrested.Teachers have asked for a salary raise but their negotiation with government failed.
Jordan: Ice Cream Picture Sparks Debate
Jordanian blogger Roba got more than she bargained for when she posted a photograph of some yummy ice-cream. Read the comments section to see why.
Egypt: Palestinians Kidnap BBC Journalist
Egyptian Kangaroo links to an article which says that Palestinians have kidnapped a BBC journalist. “Now how does that help their case , I don't know , what do they gain by doing this , again I don't know,” says Kangaroo.
Abu Aardvark: What's With Al Hurra?
Abu Aardvark (Marc Lynch) spends some time looking into the past, present and future of Arabic channel Al Hurra – a US-based satellite TV channel, which is sponsored by the US government.
Lebanon: Terrorists Caught
Lebanese blogger Mustafa sheds some light on the political scene in Lebanon , after the arrest of a terrorist network. “While the March 14 media was celebrating the capture of a “Syrian-based terrorist network” and the March 14 Minister of Interior was busy pointing his official finger at Syrian intelligence,...
Dubai: Racist Car Sales Ad
Dubai-based blogger Sans feels there is a hint of racism in a car sale ad.
India: A dog's life
A recent move proposing that street dogs be killed has It's a Dog's Life blogging devotedly to save the dogs. “And this is what we do to voiceless creatures. I wish they had the power to vote! What is more sickening is the religious angle being added to it. A...
Pakistan: On protests and politics
iFaqeer on the political developments in Pakistan. “You see, one thing I have always said about Pakistan is that one of the problems we have in keeping our governments honest and our military in its barracks is that we don't, as a rule, do street protests about actual government high-handedness–or...
Nepal: Blogger threatened
Nepali Voices reports on a blogger being threatened. ” Umesh Shrestha, the blogger behind hugely popular MySansar.com, has been threatened of ‘action within 24 hours if he publishes anything that directly or indirectly supports Maoists or terrorists’. An email with subject line reading ‘last information’ by Maoists Defense Group, not...
India: On “boardroom pin-up girls”
An article in a mainstream media publication has sthreeling reading between the lines. “Why is it a work-home balance struggle only for the woman? Not once does she consider suggesting that men share or should share the responsibility of the household. While evaluation of general work culture will help no...
India: More on Orkut and Mumbai Police
The Orkut-Mumbai Police issue results in a wide range of opinions. Rashmi Bansal appears to think it's not such a bad idea. “Personally, I believe it may be a good idea to take action in a few cases to set an example for which deters future juveniles (in age or...
The Costa Rican media ignored the Anti-CAFTA march
El Sr. Masís de Moravia. by Juliaa (The sign reads “If CAFTA passes we'll be slaves like this donkey.”) Cristian Cambronero from Fusil de Chispas [es] sums up the blogger perspective on the Costa Rica Anti-Cafta marches in his February 28th post. The media refused to report on the event,...
Caribbean, Cricket World Cup: Dissecting the win
Caribbeancricket.com's Ryan Naraine is interviewed (audio) by CaribUpdate about the West Indies team's win over Pakistan in yesterday's opening match of the Cricket World Cup.
Suriname: Miss India Suriname photoshoot
Photographer Karel Donk posts photos and a short report on a recent shoot involving the winner and first runner-up in the Miss India Suriname pageant.
Cuba: Show yourself, Fidel
In response to media reports that ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro has participated in a conference call, Ziva asks: “So where is he? I know he's not the Pope, but if he has an ounce of life, shouldn't he address the Cuban people? Surely he could be wheeled out to...
Cuba: Disneylandia?
Luis M. Garcia reports that plans are afoot to build a theme park in Cuba. Val Prieto wonders “what the hell would a communist Cuba theme park consist of?”, and gets some interesting suggestions.
Ghana: 50 Years of Freedom
Ghana, the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence, was 50, on 6th March 2007. Although the celebration, Ghana@50, of the west African nation is year-long, the climax was on Independence Day, when a national parade of Ghana's Armed Force was held at the Independence Square in Accra. Ramblings of...
South Korea: Daechuri video
Micheal Hurt posted a video done by Bum Lee, which is a tribute to the art of Daechuri. The village has been struggling against forced demolition and the construction of military base.
