Stories from 16 January 2008
Russia, Serbia: Gazprom's “Offer”
Streetwise Professor writes about Gazprom's relations with Serbia: “Gazprom/Russia is/are playing smashmouth ball over Serbia’s national oil company. Don Miller and Don Medvedev have presented Serbia with an offer it can’t refuse: to sell Naftna industrija Srbije at a fraction of its true value–and one with an unbelievably short fuse,...
Russia, UK: More on the British Council Row
Robert Amsterdam posts an update on the British Council scandal.
Ukraine: NATO; Economic Freedom
Ukrainiana writes about Ukraine-NATO relations, and about Ukraine's “dismal” ranking in the 2008 Index of Economic Freedom.
Slovenia: Airport Smoking (Or Not)
Piran Cafe writes about Ljubljana airport's ambiguous – or just sloppy – approach to smoking inside the terminal.
Russia, EU: Asylum Seekers
IVAN vs JAAN writes about the EU stance towards Chechen asylum seekers – and about the ongoing row between the U.K. and Russia over the British Council.
A Muslim Britney Spears?
As if the media circus surrounding her wasn't enough, the latest news is that Britney Spears will be considering converting to Islam in order to marry her Pakistan-born paparazzo boyfriend, Adnan Ghalib. The Middle East and North African bloggers could hardly contain themselves, writes Jillian York.
Jordan: The Impact of Bloggers on Politics
Mohammad Azraq turns his attention this week to Jordan's bloggers who are discussing the impact of blogging on politics, a visit to a music conservatory in old Ramullah, Palestine, the significance of archeology and why Arabs should not give up on their mother tongue.
Afghanistan:The Rambo Syndrom
Abu Muqawama writes about “the Rambo Syndrom”.The blogger says the New York Times has published an article about violent incidents perpetrated by returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Iran: A leftist student released,more got arrested
Azady-Brabary blog informs [Fa]that Arash Pakzad, a leftist student,was recently released after being in prison for 45 days.The blog adds that more leftist students were arrested this week.
Brazil: A flagrant video on 12 year old being killed by police
PE Body Count [pt] uploads a video with images captured by a citizen reporter showing the police violence that led to the death of Dênis Francisco Henrique dos Santos, 12 years old, during a street party in Recife, Brazil, last Sunday. The blog had reported the incident [pt] earlier this...
Iran:Photos of snowy winter and Pomegranates
Mohmmad Darvish, a leading environmentalist, has published several photos of pomegranates in snowy winter in Iran and says[Fa] Iran faces the coldest winter in last 60 years.The blogger adds climate change shows its real impact.
Brazil: A free manuals wiki in Portuguese
“Zé and I have started a new wiki, free manuals, which is basically a place for us to translate some cool manuals we know, and also to write our own manuals”. It is going to be manuals for pretty much everything, explains Daniel Madsen Melo [pt], who also welcomes helping...
Free Fouad: Arab Bloggers Speak Up!
The dean of Saudi bloggers Fouad Al Farhan (Ar) is still being detained - a month after he was handcuffed from his office in Jeddah and taken to an undisclosed location. Bloggers from Saudi Arabia to Tunisia are rallying behind Al Farhan and calling for his immediate release.
Iran:”Anti Iranian Series on Iranian TV!”
EarthSoldier says [Fa] that :”Setareh Soheyl” is “an anti Iranian series on Iranian TV” and it is produced in Iran. The blogger calls it worse than 300 movie.The blogger says in this series,Sassanid‘s soldiers were shown as very wild people who used to torture Muslim or non Muslim Arabs.
Mozambique: Sleep Walking Land
Forever Pemba [pt] is glad to find out that the film ‘Sleep Walking Land’, by Mozambican Teresa Prata based on a Mia Couto's book, will be shown at the Pune International Film Festival, in India, and in London's Bird's Eye Film Festival. “The movie tell us the Muidinga's story, a...
Brazil: The Year My Parents Went on Vacation
The Brazilian movie “The Year My Parents Went on Vacation”, by Cao Hamburger, has made it to the list of nine movies pre-selected for the foreign-language Academy Award. On January 22, a special committee will decide which of these will make to to the top 5 final list. Inagaki [pt]...
Pakistan: Blocking Blogs
Voice of South on the block on political blogs in Pakistan, and how people are responding to the ban.
Pakistan: Mush and Britney
Pakistan Paindabad takes a funny look at Pakistan and Britney Spears.
India: Blogging and Media
A popular news channel in India had a discussion-based program on the need to regulate blogs. The charade goes on… has more.
India: Majority and Minorities
Indian Muslims explores the idea of communities within the construct of “majority and minority”.
An Introductory Guide to Global Citizen Media
Rising Voices proudly announces the first in a series of outreach guides meant to explain the fundamentals of citizen media to a non-technical readership. The first guide, An Introduction to Citizen Media, offers context and case studies which show how everyday citizens across the world are increasingly using blogs, podcasts, online video, and digital photography to engage in an unmediated conversation which transcends borders, cultures, and differing languages.