Stories from 12 June 2007
Touring Libyan Blogs: Is the Arabic Language Dead?
Libyan bloggers mourn the death of the Arabic language as more Libyans resort to blogging in English. What makes them blog in a language other than their mother tongue? What do they think of the phenomena? And what is the relationship between language, religion, globalisation and terrorism? Fozia Mohamed summarises the raging debate going on in her blogosphere here.
Zimbabwe: Zimbabwean blog finalist in Blogpower Awards
Sokwanele in Blogpower Awards: “We are finalists in the Blogpower Awards. Thanks to The Pub Philosopher for initially nominating us.”
Senegal: In Memory of Ousmane Sembene
Togolese writer Kangi Alem has a short tribute [Fr] to famed Senegalese filmmaker and novelist Ousmane Sembene who passed away this weekend in Dakar. “I used to read the greats of African literature in my literature textbook in the 1980s, and I imagined all these authors were dead. What it...
Senegal: Ousmane Sembéne is no more
Alexcia announces the death of Ousmane Sembéne: “Known to kenyan as the author of “God's Bits of Wood, London : Heinemann, 1995.” Senegal's Ousmane Sembéne has died at the age of 84.”
Sudan: Eyes on Darfur
Eyes on Darfur via AfroSphere: “In June 2007, Amnesty International launched a human rights project and accompanying web site called Eyes On Darfur, which uses high resolution commercial satellite images of villages in the Darfur region. It features before and after satellite images of destroyed villages and villages at risk,...
Tahiti: Traditional Healing or Charlatanry?
Parlons Tahiti writes charlatans who sell alternative or traditional remedies [Fr] for exorbitant prices and claim to cure everything from leprosy to AIDS.
Iran:Hand Shaking with Women,Former President and You Tube
Conservative journals in Iran criticized the former president,Mohammad Khatami,for having shaken hands with several women in Italy.There is a video film on YouTube that shows he is shaking hands with a few ladies.The film was visited about 17000 times.Khatami's office talks about conspiracy against him and said he did not...
GV's Advocacy Director at AI-Observer-Irrepressible.info's June 6 meeting
On June 6, 2007, Global Voices' Advocacy Director Sami Ben Gharbia appeared at an event in London marking the one-year anniversary of the Amnesty International-Observer-Irrepressible.info campaign. Read on to view a video of Sami's address and for further links to print and multimedia reports on the event.
Trinidad & Tobago: Journalism 101
This Beach Called Life writes tongue-in-cheek about why he wants to be a journalist: “Journalists are quite unique and have the power to save the world in one column, but only after editing.”
Haiti: Haitian Film
The Haitian Eclectic links to the trailer of a Haitian film that “follows two gang leaders who took over a slum in Haiti right before Aristide's 2004 forced exit.”
Guyana: Religious Tolerance
“Most people in Guyana are very tolerant of the religious beliefs of others. Which is why this whole thing is so hard to swallow.” Stella Ramsaroop tries to get her head around the alleged involvement of Guyanese nationals in the JFK terror plot.
Barbados, Jamaica: Police Dropped the Ball
In response to the news that the former Pakistan cricket coach died of natural causes, Barbados Underground “has found the handling of the Woolmer case to be highly incompetent given the information which has been made public so far. The international event CWC 2007 did not deserve to be tainted...
Grenada: Underwater Sculpture Gallery
Thomas K is thrilled to discover an underwater sculpture garden off the coast of Grenada.
Barbados: Mercury Alert
Barbados Free Press is all for saving electricity – but believes that consumers should be educated about the potential risks of using Compact Florescent Lamps: “The problem is mercury – a toxic element with a long history of causing death, insanity and incurable health problems. Where will the mercury-laced CFLs...
Vietnam: Design Ideas of Vietnamese Architects
The blogger at Antidote to Burnout is impressed by the “the modernist tradition practiced by Vietnamese architects in urban houses” but wonders why the architects are not able to scale up their design skills to big buildings.
Iran:The Blood of Flowers
Homeyra writes about a new book:The Blood of Flowers written by Anita Amirrezvani.The blogger writes a young girl comes of age as a carpetmaker’s apprentice in 17th century Iran: “Everything about Iran-born, former Northern California dance critic Anita Amirrezvani’s first novel is meticulously designed: its nine-year creation; its hypnotic cadence...
Hong Kong: Degrading Technology
Hong Kong government is undergoing restructuring in its policy departments. The Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau will change into Business and Economic Development Bureau. Charles Mok points out that the government is degrading the significance of technology in Hong Kong (zh).
Malaysia: Self-Censorship in Media
Malaysian politician Lim Kit Siang says Media self-censorship under the current prime minister Abdullah is as bad or even worse than under the former prime minister Mahathir. “The latest example is the blackout in the local media of a survey by the Singapore American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) released on...
China: Agree to disagree
Positive solution points to a mainstream report from China Daily on “Public given more leeway to disagree with gov't”. The blogger comments that: Oh well. I guess we can agree to disagree – which, happily, is now legal.
Cambodia: Not Getting Caught in Thailand's Blame Game
Details are Sketchy is asking Cambodia to ignore Thailand's allegation that the casinos in Cambodia near the Thai border help launder money and support drug trade. “he claims are, of course, ludicrous. The problem with Thailand is that it’s ruled by an illegitimate and increasingly paranoid military dictatorship. And as...
Bolivia: Frustration at the Bank
Mario Duran of Palabras Libres [ES] expresses his frustration at having to wait for a very long time in order to be attended to at a local bank. In an attempt to document this long wait, he was denied the chance to photograph the ticket and the time at which...