Stories from 22 June 2007
Iraq for Sale
Konfused Iraqi Kid kicks off his reviews of documentaries on Iraq with a look at the movie Iraq For Sale.
Egypt: Smoking Ban
Egypt partially imposes a ban on smoking, announced Issandr El Amrani.
Bahrain: Weekly Podcast
Bahraini blogger emoodz posts his weekly podcast – in Arabic and English here. Enjoy the rant!
Cannibalism in Qatar
After a week of rumours about a case of cannibalism amongst a group of foreign workers in Doha, the story has finally been confirmed. Qatari points to an article in the local press where doctors found a finger in the stomach of a worker who had come in with a...
Guyana: Jumbies
“Guyanese blame every event, behaviour or sign that we can’t explain on jumbies…ghosts…dead people spirit.” Guyana-Gyal explains.
Bahamas: Dialogue on Race
“It’s damn easy to assume stuff about the world, history, other people. What is hard to do — and to accept — is listen to other people’s realities.” Nicolette Bethel encourages dialogue on the topic of race in the Bahamas.
Albania: “More Elections”
“In the soap opera of Albanian politics today's episode should be about the election of a new President,” begins Our Man in Tirana.
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Banja Luka; Sarajevo's Hecco Hotel
Wu Wei writes about a trip to Banja Luka and about Hotel Hecco in Sarajevo.
Bosnia & Herzegovina: War Memories
Part 2 of “How My Wars Began” – at TOL's Balkanizer.
Belarus: Blogosphere Digests and Translations
Regular translations and roundups of the Belarusian blogosphere – at TOL's Belarus.
Croatia: More on “Feral Tribune”
Illyrian Gazette has more on the demise of Feral Tribune.
Czech Rebublic: Panorama Blast
Arellanes.com offers a theory on how the Czech pranksters managed to insert footage of a nuclear blast into the regular live footage of the Czech countryside on a state-owned TV channel.
Hungary: Historical Magic Store
Pestiside.hu writes about a 38-year-old Budapest magic store: “But ‘store’ might be the wrong word here – it's more like a trick workshop.”
Hungary: “Gloomy Sunday” in Budapest
Pestcentric writes about a Budapest restaurant where “arguably the most famous Hungarian song was written: ‘Gloomy Sunday.’ Rezső Seress wrote the original lyrics here back in the 1930s.” What's known to the world, though, is “a watered-down translation of an already softened reinterpretation.”
Hungary, France: Imre Nagy Memorial
Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar finds himself at the Imre Nagy memorial at Pere Lachaise in Paris.
Egypt: Judge's request to block websites rejected
The State Commissioner Committee in Egypt has rejected the request made by the judge Abdel Fattah Mourad to block 51 websites and blogs deemed insulting the state's dignity and threatening Egypt’s interests. In the meantime, the investigation on blogger Amr Gharbia, who was charged for defaming Judge Mourad, has been...
Trinidad & Tobago: Virtual Philanthropy
KnowProSE.com has some thoughts on philanthropy in virtual worlds.
Latvia: Another Mournful Date
“Only three days after we marked the June 1941 deportations, the flags again fly with black tassels attached — today we observe the 67th anniversary of the occupation of the Republic of Latvia by the USSR,” writes Marginalia.
Soviet History: Speeches Made on June 22-23, 1941
De Rebus Antiquis Et Novis posts four speeches – by Adolf Hitler, Vyacheslav Molotov, Winston Churchill, and Sumner Welles – that were delivered on 22-23 June 1941.
Moldova: Chisinau's New Mayor
Chisinau has a non-Communist new mayor, and Public Policy Watch believes he will introduce change and reforms for Moldova's capital.
Romania: Economic Relations With Neighbors
Romerican writes about the prospects of Romania's economic relations with its neighbors: “Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Ukraine all represent logical markets for exporting Romanian-made products and Romanian-performed services sold under Romanian brands of Romanian-owned companies. There’s a ready audience right across the border just ripe for the taking. Do it.”
