Stories from 2 April 2007
Bolivia: “Tears and Fraud as the Door to Spain Closes”
Estimates are that as many as 200,000 Bolivians have migrated to Spain in the last three years … The lines at the passport office here in Cochabamba have been so long for so long that people sleep by the door just for the chance to get a ticket securing a...
Argentina, Colombia, Bolivia: 100 best novels written in Spanish in the past 25 years
With CNN and the BBC no longer readily available in Buenos Aires, perhaps it's time to get acquainted with what the Colombian magazine Semana calls the “100 best novels written in Spanish in the past 25 years.” Or, if you prefer poetry, Blogs de Bolivia points readers toward a new...
Ukraine: Verka Serdyuchka
“The unwashed masses have spoken,” writes Natalia Antonova in her post about Verka Serdyuchka/Andriy Danylko.
Ukraine: Between Revolutions
A Fistful of Euros writes about Ukraine, and about revolutions eating their children, and about “shift[ing] away from snipers towards tents and blogs as a means of resolving political conflict.”
Ukraine: Updates
Abdymok.net posts updates on the situation in Ukraine following the president's decision to dissolve the parliament.
Ukraine: Revolution, Again
Enidd describes what it feels like to be in the center of a revolution: “the main thrust of the revolution seemed to be seeing who could wave most flags and jump about the most, and who had the loudest sound system – which made it very like the reading festival,...
Ukraine: Maidan-2
Ukrainiana explains the essence of “the spring sequel to the Orange Revolution.”
China: Persecuting economic crimes
Capitalism is now officially approved at the Party level, but with otherwise law-abiding small-scale sidewalk sellers nation-wide operating in constant fear and in conflict with (photos) the chengguan (more photos), the urban management forces found in every city, has this ideological thaw trickled down to the streets? Not yet, says...
Exploring Ecuador's Cyber-South
Photograph of Loja, Ecuador by Milton Ramirez Ecuador is a country with low access to the Internet and so most Ecuadorian netizens must save enough money to use an Internet cafe or pay for their own costly connection. The situation is even more interesting if we look at the impoverished...
India: Barcamp Bangalore 3
Barcamp Bangalore 3's on and is seeing a huge number of participants. Photographs tagged with the barcamp at flickr. Posts by Himanshu on the Barcamp here, orione. Meanwhile Ponder Point explain what exactly a barcamp is.
Honduras: Sweatshop Friendly?
Inspired by a New Zealander blogging about Honduras while in Ireland, “La Gringa” agrees with the description of Honduras as “sweatshop-friendly.”
Iran:Three Women Activists were arrested
According to Zannevesht [Fa] at least three women activists were arrested while they collected the signatures for the Campaign “One Million Signatures Demanding Changes to Discriminatory Laws.” It happened in Laleh park in Tehran.
Iran: Looking at the Detained British Sailors’ Crisis Differently
The Iran-UK maritime crisis, which erupted after the arrest of 15 British sailors by Iranian forces in the Persian Gulf on March 23, has become one of the top stories in the international media. The British and Iraqi governments say that British soldiers were in Iraqi waters doing a routine...
Iraq: Security Lies
Iraqi blogger Raed Jarrar criticises Senator John McCain's visit to Iraq, saying that the impression it gave about the level of safety and security in Baghdad was misleading. “I don't think many Iraqis can afford to hire some hundreds of bodyguards and a few helicopters to protect them while they...
Iraq: Blasphemous Marines
Iraqi blogger Truth Teller posts two photographs allegedly portraying blasphemous acts committed by US marines in Iraq. One shows a drawing of a cross on the Quran and the second graffiti on a wall which reads: Our God is better than your God.
Egypt: In Defence of Kareem
Writing for The Arabist, Issandr El Amrani links to an article written by a Muslim Brotherhood author in defence of jailed Egyptian blogger Kareem Nabeel Sulaiman, who is serving four years for insulting both Islam and Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.
Egypt: Cover Up Fires
A post on the outbreak of a fire in the Sayeddah area of Cairo, Egypt, by blogger Frederik Richter triggered this comment from reader Amil Khan: “One of the fires I went to was right next to the office. I was surprised to find the same senior policeman who oversaw...
Bahrain: Animal Sounds Banned
Bahraini blogger Silly Bahraini Girl criticises legal action being taken against two youth accused of making animal noises to a policeman.
Bahrain: Female Bloggers Meeting
Bahraini blogger Silveroo calls for an all-female bloggers meeting, sparking an argument in which some of accusations exchanged were “sexist” and “genderphobic.”
Bahrain: Where Justice Differs
Bahraini blogger Manama Republic laments the loss of a Bahraini security guard, who was shot outside a nightclub, and sheds light on a whole generation of ‘forgotten’ Bahrainis. He questions the lack of police interest in pursuing the perpetrator of this heinous act and wonders whether the killer was a...
Algeria: New Arabism
Algerian blogger Nouri discusses a new wave of Arabism, led by Saudi Arabia. “Saudi Arabia has been driving efforts to construct a regional Arab block to check Iranian influence in the Middle East, a fact that has some American commentators worried,” he writes.