Stories from 20 June 2007
Iraq: Blame Iran for Everything
“I think that when the president of the united states counted Iran among the members of the axis of evil the description was not unjustifiably incriminating, it just came before the evidence that support this claim became available,” writes Mohammed in Iraq the Model, who blames all the crisis in...
Egypt: Fond Memories
Maryanne Stroud Gabbani, who lives in Egypt, shares with us her feelings on her husband's death anniversary. “June 10 is the anniversary of my husband's death, an occasion that changed my life and my children's lives irrevocably and with the impact of having a building fall on us,” she notes.
Bahrain: Mahmood's Den Gets a Face Lift
Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif gives his popular blog a face lift.
Turkey is Typing…Sex Matters
The equality of the sexes has been a topic on the fingertips of Turkish bloggers as of late. Even with reforms to the penal code about a woman's right to veil (or not too), a woman's freedom of body, and stricter repercussions for rape, the equality between man and woman in Turkey is still contested. The legacy of Ataturk's secular reforms when the Republic of Turkey was founded has given the country the veneer of female equality...but with probing questions does the polish wear away?
Jamaica: Trusting Walcott
“A battle over individuality, morality, divinity, and spelling was being fought on a Caribbean beach. I loved it.” A passage from Omeros inspires Jamaican Geoffrey Philp to write about why he trusts poet Derek Walcott more than his pastor.
Haiti: Sights
The Livesay Haiti Weblog posts some photos of everyday sights in Haiti.
Guyana: Sex on Demand?
The Guyana Groove raises the question of “whether a woman should feel obligated to provide sex for her husband at anytime he requests it.”
Cuba: Espin's Death
Child of the Revolution shares his thoughts on the death of Vilma Espin, Raul Castro's wife.
Bermuda: BHC Scandal Hits International Financial Press
Politics.bm is concerned that the Bermuda Housing Corporation scandal has caught the attention of the international financial press, while IMHO.bm asks, “Who needs The Young and the Restless when you have this mess to follow?!?”
Barbados: Drilling for Oil
Twenty-five companies are in a bid to drill for oil off the coast of Barbados. Barbados Free Press puts forward its opinion about which firms should be disqualified based on their environmental records.
Bahamas: Election Over; Back to Work
“This country is facing some huge home-grown problems, together with a multitude of challenges presented by a rapidly-changing world.” Sir Arthur Foulkes, guest authoring at Bahama Pundit, thinks that it is time for the PLP to “get over their frustration and settle down to the job the people elected them...
Japan: War Responsibility Project
Tessa Morris-Suzuki wrote in Ohmynews the background of Yomiuri's project in publishing a book on war responsibility: it is a re-examination of the problem of war responsibility initiated by a newspaper generally considered to be “right-of-centre”, and therefore expected to support a more nationalistic approach to the past. The project...
Myanmar: Birthday Wishes for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
Myanmar Bloggers celebrate and send their wishes for Burmese Opposition Leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's 62nd Birthday on the 19th June 2007.
Croatia: “Feral Tribune” Shuts Down
Last week, Croatian finance ministry froze bank accounts of the region’s legendary political weekly, Feral Tribune, due to 68,000 Euros of tax debt, forcing the publication to close. "The only independent journal on the Balkans has now been silenced," wrote one Serbian blogger. Sinisa Boljanovic has more on the causes and the significance of this loss.
Hong Kong: Light Pollution
Chu zai from inmediahk.net criticized the light show in the Victoria Harbour for creating light pollution as the excessive lighting would create more carbon dioxide (zh).
Guatemala: Working for Google
Desde Guate [ES] discovers a job opening for a temporary job working for Google in Guatemala.
Venezuela: “Bolivarian” Computers For the Region
Venezuela Analysis takes a closer look at the Bolivarian Computers, which will be produced by the Venezuelan government for use in the country and sale across the region.
El Salvador: Protests Against Health Care Privatization
Tim's El Salvador Blog writes about the recent protests against health care privatization. The march was sponsored by the opposition party, FMLN and other NGOs.
Tajikistan: Who's the Target?
Vadim asks who exactly was targeted in recent bombings in Tajikistan.
Central Asia: Failing States
Non Pon looks at how Central Asian states fared in the recently released Failed State Index.
Caucasus: Not a Region
Artur says that the South Caucasus is an artificial and unnecessary construct — that the three countries within in have little in common.
