12 October 2007

Stories from 12 October 2007

Argentina: The Trouble With Trains

Train travel in Argentina, whether it is long-distance, regional or local, seems to attract plenty of complaints from users. At times, many of these gripes never make it to managers, who have the ability to make changes. Lately a series of blogs have been created aimed at providing platforms for users and employees to air their complaints and share experiences about these transit systems. Special guest writer Alejandro Lezcano tooks a look at some of these Argentina transportation blogs.

12 October 2007

Free Speech Roundup: China, UAE, Jordan, Iran and more

Two interesting documents related to Internet censorship and circumvention were published recently: “Everyone's Guide to By-Passing Internet Censorship for Citizens Worldwide”, released by The University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab and a “Journey to the Heart of Internet censorship” in China, released by RSF and Chinese Human Rights Defenders, and written by an anonymous Chinese technician. In Jordan sending emails and writing online poems can send you to jail. And, is Facebook blocked in the United Arab Emirates?

12 October 2007

Palestine: New Baby on the Way

Palestinian blogger and journalist Leila Haddad says she's expecting a new baby. “Yousuf has already taken to his new role as older sibling like a fish to water, and has...

12 October 2007

Oman: Visa Issues

Devilish from Oman shows us some of the tactics used by the US Embassy to grant visas to Omanis travelling to the US in this post.

12 October 2007

Lebanon: Bittersweet Blogging

Louis-Noel Harfouche has returned to blogging about Lebanon in a new post about the Arabic language. “And bitter[sweet] and disheartening as it (and its people) are at times, Lebanon remains...

12 October 2007

Lebanon: Looking for a Savior

Lebanese blogger Shirin is looking for a savior. “The search for a savior – one who'll literally save Lebanon, won't be in vain. I trust the brave members of the...

12 October 2007

Kuwait: Lebanon Holiday

Lebanese blogger Fonzy, who lives in Kuwait, is travelling to Lebanon and Syria for a short break. “(T)he best part is that ALL my friends in Kuwait are spending the...

12 October 2007

Lebanon: Being Nice

Lebanese blogger Rami Zurayk writes about how a minister's adviser criticized comments he wrote on his blog as sarcastic. “Sarcasm? I was being nice,” he notes.

12 October 2007

Japan: Sports with “no future”

Why do people play sports? Is it out of a love for the game, just for a good time, or is it actually a career choice like any other? 21-year-old Japanese pro-golfer Ueda Momoko sparked a heated debate earlier this week after she remarked that she could not understand young people who play sports which, according to her, have "no future".

12 October 2007

Czech Rebublic: Oglo/Blog Day

NvB: Bored in Brno? celebrated Blog Day belatedly, on Oct. 9: “I've decided to rename it since 09/10 looks more like “Oglo” than “blog,” but in case that's too confusing...

12 October 2007