Stories from 18 January 2008
Pakistan: Ringtones, Islam and Rhetoric
All Things Pakistan asks if ringtones are un-Islamic and points out the rhetoric behind the question.
Bahrain: On Inflation
Bahraini blogger emoodz discusses inflation in this post.
World Social Forum Global Day of Mobilization and Action
Viriato [pt] posts details of the 2008 decentralized World Social Forum Global Day of Mobilization and Action, listing events taking place throughout the world.
Armenia: Copyright Infringement?
As a photojournalist as well as blogger, I have made low resolution images shot for next month's presidential election in Armenia available for free use by other bloggers in the hope that presentation in the local blogosphere improves. However, when licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works license I...
Brazil: Violent games have been banned or censored?
Sérgio Amadeu [pt] criticizes a court decision that banned computer games “EverQuest” and “Counter-Strike” because of the alleged violence. “Japan is one of the countries in which violent games are more widespread, Korea is another. The statistics for violence there do not even get close to the numbers in the...
Madagascar: Popular Radio Broadcast supsended by the Government
Jentilisa reports that the popular radio program “karajia” (discussion in Malagasy) braodcasted by the Roman Catholic Church Radio called Radio Don Bosco was suspended by the government. This suspension was also reported on a popular broadcast called ” kidoana maraina” on Radio Television Analamanga (RTA). Jentilisa explains that the reason...
Armenia: Discredited Opinion Polls
Unzipped comments on news that the U.S. Embassy and the International Republican Institute (IRI) have scrapped plans to hold an exit poll during next month's presidential election. Although the blogger was initially in favor of the idea, he now says that while the decision can be considered bad news, it...
Thailand: Foreign Support for Southern Insurgency
Bangkok Pundit analyzes media reports that claim that the extremists in Southern Thailand are getting assistance from foreign terrorist groups.
Iran:Excluding Iran
Nart Villeneuve writes” according to The Register, Yahoo! (png) and Microsoft (png) had removed Iran as an option in their country lists used when signing up for an account.Google still has Iran as an option for creating accounts, but does block GoogleEarth downloads from users in Iran (png).”
Azerbaijan: Funeral Rites
Leigh’s new adventure in Azerbaijan reflects on the funeral rites and customs practiced in the country.
Iran:Open letter to Chavez from Iranian labour activists
Militant has published an open letter to President Hugo Chavez from Iranian labour and student activists. Chavez was asked to use his close relation with Iranian president,Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,to help more than 40 jailed students and labour activists,to be released from prison.
Armenia: Online Election Manifestos
The Armenian Observer examines the online presence of Armenia's nine candidates for next month's presidential election. In particular, the blogger points his readers in the direction of which sites include election manifestos.
Armenia: Azerbaijani Response
Blogian says that the Azerbaijani media as well as parliamentarians have responded to the blogger establishing a website and blog detailing the destruction of an ancient Armenian cemetery in the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan.
Iran:New York City to Iran Phone Link
The Enough Fear campaign connects Americans and Iranians through direct phone calls as part of our person-to-person diplomacy campaign.On Saturday, January 19th, we will set up four phones in City Hall Park in New York that will be connected to volunteers in Iran
Iran:Grow,Watermelon,Grow
“Grow,Watermelon,Grow” is the name of the first children's book of New York based Iranian illustrator/designer,Charlotte Norouzi. Sepideh Sarami has done a very interesting interview with her.
Korea: Taean, Blogger, and Truth
Since the Taean oil spill in Korea, two stories have been the focus of attention. One is the large number of volunteers – 1 milion Koreans have volunteered so far. A blogger brings up the other story, which is the truth of the oil spill. Doubting major media news, blogger...
Palestine: Dance Prodigy Hopes to Make it Big
Every once in a while, you hear about a story that makes you stop in your tracks. One that is so outside the norm, that is seems as if the central figure has been born in the wrong time or place. Maya Norton writes about Palestinian Ayman Safieh's steps towards making it big in the world of classical ballet.
Jamaica: Plastification
“What makes Jamaica so very beautiful, and so unique is the fact that is has not undergone the ‘plastification’ that abounds in…developed countries”: Francis Wade explains.
Barbados: Thompson Sworn In
As Barbados’ new Prime Minister is sworn in, Living in Barbados raises a few issues to consider…
Cuba: Odds & Ends
The Cuban Triangle posts a comprehensive roundup of stories relevant to Cuba this week.
Dominica: Discussing the Refinery Issue
“Dominicans are clearly thinking about these issues and asking important questions,” writes Living Dominica, as she continues to blog about the government's plans to build an oil refinery on “the nature isle”.