Stories from 11 October 2007
Egypt: 80 Lashes = An Upside Down Country
What happens when you mix a desperate dictator, a corrupt religious leader, opposition voices and a vulnerable nation? A dysfunctional union between Hosni Mubarak, Al Azhar University and their anti-freedom condemnations, say Egyptian bloggers.
Russia: Moscow Migrants; Practicing Believers
According to the Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, “nearly two out of every three Muscovites now favor expelling [migrants] from the city and blocking any new arrivals.” Window on Eurasia has more on this – and also on the ratio of practicing Muslims to practicing Orthodox Christians...
Russia, England: More on the Football Game
More on the upcoming Russia vs England football game – at Siberian Light.
Russia: Forever Putin?
Russian politicians and public figures answer this question about Vladimir Putin: “Is he [with us] forever now?” Scraps of Moscow translates their answers.
Saudi Arabia: Better to be a Woman
Rasheed from Saudi Arabia explains why it is better to be a woman when you want to go to the mall in Saudi Arabia.
Latvia: Indulis Emsis
Latvian Abroad writes about the bizarre scandal that has caused resignation of Latvia's parliament speaker, Indulis Emsis. Marginalia notes that Emsis also used to be “the world's first Green Prime Minister” – and writes more on what it means to be Green in Latvia, where “nationalism went hand in hand...
Latvia: Citizenship Debate
So far, there are 121 comments to the “Stateless in Latvia” post at Euroblog by BBC's Europe editor Mark Mardell – and All About Latvia is tired of explaining Latvia's citizenship laws.
Macedonia: Online News Sources
The Macedonian Tendency lists some online resources on Macedonian issues.
Poland, Iraq: Attack on the Ambassador
“Poles are a target in Iraq because they are part of the occupation,” writes the beatroot in a post about last week's attack on the Polish Ambassador in Baghdad.
Poland: Campaign as “Spectator Sports”
Less than two weeks remaining before the general election in Poland, the beatroot writes about the contenders’ “personalities” and their chances for winning.
Poland: Irena Sendlerowa, 97, for Nobel
The beatroot writes about the woman who may beat Bono and Al Gore to the Nobel Peace Prize this year: “Twenty four years after Lech Walesa won it, 97-year-old Irena Sendlerowa – who is famous in Poland for protecting many, many Jewish children during the Nazi occupation of WW II...
Ukraine: Milla Jovovich Ukrainian Song
Ukrainian Musical Matters writes about an unlikely subject: Milla Jovovich. Her 1994 album – “one of the best kept musical secrets of the 90's” – includes a Ukrainian folk song that Milla sings in Ukrainian.
Saudi Arabia: Women Activists on the Move
“I don’t know why, but apparently we get a lot of our important decisions made during the last ten days of Ramadhan…I guess our government is always inspired by the spirituality of those holy days,” writes Saudi Jeans, who adds that women activists “are planning to take field trips in...
Iraq: The Politics of Death
“I must admit that I'm amazed by this sudden interest in the deaths of Iraqi civilians at the hands of security contractors. (..) While I'm glad it's in the news, I can't help but ask: What took you so long?” writes IraqPundit.
Egypt: 80 Lashes for Spreading Rumours
“During a religious celebration commemorating the eve Quran descended from heaven, Mohamed Sayid Tantawi, sheikh of Azhar mosque preached a crowd of state officials including President Mubarak, finding religious grounds for whipping rumor spreaders 80 times,” writes Egyptian blogger Nora Younis.
Bahrain: Eid Mubarak
“(L)et me wish you all a very good, healthy, peaceful and prosperous Eid enjoyed with your kith and kin. Spare a thought too to those less fortunate and try to make their Eid enjoyable too,” writes Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif.
Bahrain: Getting Ready for Eid
“Yes, another Ramadan has come and went, and Eid is very nearly upon us. Everywhere seems to be busy; the shops are full at night with people rushing the last few minutes to buy their new Eid clothes,” writes Bahraini blogger Ammaro, who describes the scene at this time of...
Sudan: SocialRank and Sudan Daily Voices
“We now have Sudan’s DailyVoices, a site powered by SocialRank (and which I requested the SocialRank team to make). Everyday it displays the top 15 popular posts and blogs on Sudan. How does it do that?,” reports Sudanese Thinker.
Kenya: Mzalendo update
Updates from Mzalendo (An Eye on Kenyan Parliament): “Another round of improvements and updates to make it easier for Mzalendo.com to use. We now have a continuous ticker of the number of aspirants in the database”
Kenya: Mzalendo update
Updates from Mzalendo (An Eye on Kenyan Parliament): “Another round of improvements and updates to make it easier for Mzalendo.com to use. We now have a continuous ticker of the number of aspirants in the database”
Africa: Grant competition for Africans in Europe
“The World Bank Group and its partners announce the Development Marketplace for African Diaspora in Europe (D-MADE) Grant Competition,” via Kenyan Pundit.
