Stories from 23 March 2007
The Balkans, U.S.: General Veljko Kadijevic
Neretva River writes – here, here, here, and here – about a Serbian war criminal who has allegedly been advising the United States on Saddam's bunkers and other strategic facilities in Iraq.
Guatemala: Account of Anti-Bush Protests
After enduring some intestinal unpleasantries, Scott Lamorte made it to Guatemala City where he convinced local cops that he was a journalist for a behind-the-lines look at the protests that met US President George Bush on his one-day visit.
Guatemala: Improving the Electoral Process Pedir más, para…
As political parties organize their campaigns for the presidential elections, Jose Zamora hopes for a much more serious electoral process than just catchy campaign songs, ubiquitous street banners, and empty stump speeches. “We should demand concrete plans of governance from all the candidates, plans which we can study and debate...
El Salvador, Chile: Roque Dalton and Roberto Bolaño
Venezuelan-American poet Guillermo Parra, recently in San Salvador to research Salvadoran poet Roque Dalton (1935-1975), describes the interests in leftists politics and experimental fiction shared by Dalton and the Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño. A follow-up essay, “Poor Poets: Roque Dalton and Roberto Bolaño“, goes into further detail about the lives...
Iraq: Under Islamic Law?
Iraqi blogger Omar, who writes in award winning blog Iraq The Model, writes about the future of an Islamic state in Iraq. “In fact the correlation between the two main extremist groups is some sort of catch 22, though it really isn't. it might be believed that the attacks of...
Iraqi: Don't Move..or I Will Shoot!
Iraqi blogger Ladybird links to a video showing “US soldiers shooting on every thing that moves including civilians.”
Egypt: Speaker Woes
Egyptian blogger Zeinobia gives us her two cents on what she thinks of the list of speakers who attended a conference on Secular Islam in Florida, US. “I don't know how the organizers of the Summit of were thinking, it seems that they chose all the outcasted and hated personalities...
Egypt: Anti-Mubarak Rally in Cairo
Egyptian blogger Hossam el-Hamalawy says an anti-Mubarak rally will be staged in Cairo Egypt on Sunday (March 26). This follows announcements of protests in Washington DC, US, and London, UK, on the same day.
Saudi Arabia: Child Slaves
Blogger Issandr Al Amrani links to a BBC documentary on the child slaves of Saudi Arabia here. “These children (from poor countries like neighbouring Yemen) are often sold by families who are either duped into believing their offspring will get a better life or sometimes simply threatened. Once in the...
Algeria: Lingustics Talk
Algerian blogger Lameen Souag is just back from attending a linguistics conference in Cambridge, CamLing 2007, where he presented a talk on number borrowing in Berber. For those interested, the talk is available here. Souag is also distressed to learn that Yucatec Maya, one of the largest Maya languages, is...
Dubai: Air-Conditioned Bus Stops Delayed
“Bad news for bus travellers in Dubai, who were looking forward to the installation of 500 air-conditioned bus stops before the brutal summer heat hits us. It's reported that they will miss the deadline for installation due to “operational delays” – whatever that means,” writes Dubai-based blogger Seabee. “This summer,...
Croatia, U.K.: The Spanovic Decision
A UK court's decision “undermines the effort to bring to trial all defendants currently suspected of war crimes committed during the 1991-1995 conflict,” Neretva River reports.
D.R. of Congo: Nigerian ambassador wounded
A first-hand account of what is happening in the Democratic Republic of Congo, “Meanwhile, the Spanish Embassy has been hit by mortal fire and the Nigerian Ambassador has been wounded in his home yesterday and as last heard, had not been evacuated as MONUC could not yet get to his...
Egypt: Pressure on to Release Sulaiman
Pressure is mounting on Egypt to release jailed blogger Abdulkareem Nabeel Sulaiman. The latest pressure tactics are an op-ed article in the New York Post and a call to US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice to raise Kareem's issue in her meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, according to Free...
Cayman Islands: Plight of the Disabled
Mighty Afroditee shares her thoughts on the plight of the disabled: “My environment needs further education and enlightenment…if buildings and sidewalks are not properly outfitted for handicap access…then we are taking away the ability of those with special needs to be independent.”
Guyana: Match Fixing & Woolmer's Death?
On the heels of the Jamaican police confirming that Pakistan's cricket coach, Bob Woolmer, was strangled to death, Guyana Providence Stadium refers to a report by Paul Newman and Mike Dickson speculating that the murder had to do with match-fixing.
Jamaica: Sara Lawrence Replacement?
Sara Lawrence, the medical student who won the coveted Miss Jamaica title and placed sixth for her country at the Miss World pageant last year, has relinquished her crown. YardFlex.com reports that it is the first time in the Jamaican contest's 23-year history that a winner was dethroned because she...
Puerto Rico: Ecological Havoc in Santo Domingo?
The Voice of the Taino People reports that the Santo Domingo Government's Public Works Ministry is causing significant ecological destruction in a National Park in order to build a two-kilometer vehicular access.
Trinidad & Tobago: Corporate Responsibility
Caribbean Public Relations is pleased at the Trinidad and Tobago government's introduction of measures to increase corporate social responsibility best practices in businesses.
D.R. of Congo: heavy gunfire
What is happening in the Democratic Republic of Congo? Read Congo Girl's update: “Since daybreak, the gun and mortar fire has only worsened in intensity. There is now one column of smoke rising from something or other when I look out the office windows either east or west. I can't...
Nepal: Roar against Internet Shutdown
The decision of the Internet Service Providers Association of Nepal (ISPAN) to shut down internet services for two hours – one each in morning and evening – didn’t have good effect on bloggers. The shutdown was a part of the protest program announced by the Nepal’s industrialists against the Maoists’...
