Stories from 10 February 2008
Iraq: End life, killed laughter
So says HNK. The world media seems to treat the Northern Iraqi city, Mosul, as more of a footnote their in the stream of news. Giving no more than a passing comments that the Iraqi prime minister declared a "decisive battle" to win back the city. When I read such headlines I know the human consequences will turn out to be horrific. So, today I dedicate my post to the extraordinary bloggers of Mosul who are living on the front line of a war zone. Also, one blogger writes on the conditions for women in Iraq and if you read to the end, you will find the mother of all bikers.
Growing Up Blogging in Rural Uruguay
Rising Voices grantee Pablo Flores, who is in charge of the implementation of the One Laptop Per Child program in Uruguay, believes that the XO laptop is more than just an educational tool. He also sees the lime green laptops as an important communication device which he hopes will allow all Uruguayan students to be heard by the rest of their country and participate in the online conversations which will affect their future.
Hindi Blogosphere: Ad Revenue, Bollywood and other stories
A number of bloggers writing in English have no problem in putting up adverts and a lot of them generate decent enough revenue from their blogs. But the problem comes when you don't blog in English but in some other language as your advertising options start narrowing down. Ad revenue...
Spreading the word about indigenous rights in Republic of Congo
indigenouspeoplecongobrazza writes about efforts to educate [Fr] Congolese about the new UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights.
Dubai: Act of Kindness
Seabee from Dubai writes about an act of kindness he has come across – “At Umm Suqeim beach an injured or sick gull had been carefully placed in the shade, some corn placed beside it and a plastic bag of water above it.”
Dubai: Cold Again
“After the record rains, the gales, the earth tremors, we now have temperatures way below normal,” reports Seabee, from Dubai.
Qatar: Salaries and Cars
“I am curious to know what part of their income people spend on their cars,” writes Hashin, at Qatar Living.
Qatar: Harassed while Walking
From Qatar, Doubtfire talks about how his British wife was harassed while out for a walk by a local man, who followed and took pictures of her.
Lebanon: Fairouz Attacked for Singing in Syria
Egyptian blogger Zeinobia expresses her annoyance with the way legendary Lebanese singer Fairouz is being attacked after singing in Syria.
Egypt: New Limits on Satellite TV
Last week, during discussion with a fairly senior Egyptian journalist, I was told that the Egyptian Ministry of Information had just finished a preparing a new “code of ethics” in order to puts limits on what satellite TV stations could broadcast, especially when the topic was political in nature, writes...
Egypt: Wael Abbas in the US Press
Ibn Al Dunya, from Egypt, sheds light on fellow blogger Wael Abbas, who was featured in a US publication.
Bahrain: Saudi Change
Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif directs us to a discussion on Saudi Arabia, change and freedom of expression.
Lebanon: Winograd's Lamentations
From Lebanon, M Bashir Winograd’s report in this post.
Armenia: Election European Youth Press Monitoring
The Armenia Election 2008: European Youth Press Monitoring site is up and running. The site dedicated to covering the 19 February presidential election in Armenia is a collaboration between European Youth Press, Orangelog and the local Manana Youth Educational Cultural Center.
Armenia: Fire at Ministry of Justice
Both Nazarian and Unzipped briefly comment on the sudden and somewhat mysterious fire that engulfed at least two floors of the Ministry of Justice. However, while one of the pro-Ter-Petrossian bloggers considers the fire a bad sign ahead of the election, the other implies that it might have been by...
Armenia: Rallies, Revolution & the Numbers Game
The Armenian Patchwork posts photographs from major rallies staged in Yerevan’s Liberty Square by two of the country’s nine candidates for the 19 February presidential election in Armenia. On Friday, Vahan Hovannisian and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation — Dashnaktrutyun (ARF-D) held theirs and set a precedent for the most Western...
Armenia: Radical Opposition Momentum
Unzipped says he believes that the pre-election campaign by former president Levon Ter-Petrossian is gaining momentum. In particular, yesterday's rally in Yerevan’s Liberty Square gives the blogger hope although he also notes that another candidate, Artur Baghdasarian, has not withdrawn his candidacy in Ter-Petrossian’s support before the official deadline to...
Armenia: Quote of the Day
Nazarian criticizes the Armenian Revolutionary Federation — Dashnaktsutyun for the pre-election campaign rhetoric of its candidate, Vahan Hovannisian. The blogger points out that the party continues to criticize the very same government it is part of.
South Africa: Web startups to watch
Charl's list of South Africa's web startup to watch: “I’ve tried to diversify the list with startups doing things in different markets, and while this is a list of the most promising startups they are by no means the best but are looking toward a bright future.”
Armenia: Nationalist Politics?
Blogian comments on Friday's pre-election campaign rally by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation — Dashnaktsutyun’s candidate Vahan Hovannisian and especially with regards to debate over its nationalist credentials in the media.
Armenia: Propaganda & Beatings
Both Nazarian and Unzipped are alarmed by the beating of youth distributing Levon Ter-Petrossian pre-election campaign leaflets in Yerevan. At the same time, other leaflets accusing the former president of treason due to what many consider to be a concessionary position on resolution of the Karabakh conflict are being handed...
