Stories from 22 February 2008
Egypt: Monopoly on Backwardness
Elijah Zarwan, from Egypt, links to a story of an Israeli MP blaming the recent earthquake on gays and comments: “Lest anyone think that we in the Muslim world have a monopoly on backwardness and comical fundamentalism.”
Serbia: Bloggers Discuss Rally and Rioting in Belgrade
Yesterday, Kosovo is Serbia rally was held in Belgrade. According to unofficial sources, 150,000-200,000 people attended it to protest against unilateral proclamation of independence of Kosovo. The rally went peacefully but was followed by rioting. Buildings of the American, Croatian and Turkish embassies were set on fire. Many people were injured, at least one person was killed. Sinisa Boljanovic translates reactions by several Serbian bloggers who blog at B92's blog portal.
China: Wen Jiabao's neighbors forcefully evicted
Since his blogging tour by bike through some of the poorest areas in China, veteran Beijing blogger Laohu “Tiger Temple” Miao has over the past two months taken on the part-time job of social worker for a group of homeless and destitute senior citizens living behind a temporary roadside wall just opposite Tiananmen Square, collecting donations and organizing clothing and food drives through his blog, 24 Hours Online, and through this inspiring similar actions [zh] in other cities.
Israel: Palestine and Kosovo
One Jerusalem from Israel, discusses Kosovo's independence from Serbia in this post, as well as its implications on Palestine.
Bahrain: Wise beyond her years?
Bahraini blogger emoodz questions the appointment of a female judge – who only graduated in 2005.
India: On Fidel Castro
MantraBlogs from India on the legacy of Fidel Castro – as he announced his retirement a few days back.
Sri Lanka: Tamil Identity
groundviews on the idea of Tamil identity and nationalism in Sri Lanka.
Pakistan: Why is YouTube blocked?
YouTube appears to be blocked in Pakistan, All Things Pakistan points out that this may have a political rather than a “cultural” reason – given that a number of videos of election rigging were posted.
Pakistan: Election results
Metroblogging Lahore wonders why the elections results in Pakistan are confusing to the West.
Brazil: While traditional media deals with lawsuits, blogs report
Two of the biggest media companies in Brazil are currently involved is court cases that similarly raise the issue of freedom of speech and press even though the media finds itself on opposite sides of the issue in the two cases. Blogs are uniquely pointing out the similarity and contradictions revealed by the connectedness of both situations.
Iran: From Prague to Iran
Michal Svec, a young Czeck man has published several photos of his trip to Iranian cities.
Iran:A petiton against Google Earth
More than 4000 people have already signed a petition against Google Earth. The petiton that says: “dear Administrators of Google Earth, we, the undersigned, through this letter, protest your irresponsible, unscientific actions, and demand an immediate and unconditional deletion of “Arabian Gulf” from Google Earth.”
Iran:Three workers were whipped
According to [Fa] several bloggers including Salam Democrat,three workes who had been arrested last year for participating in May Day( Workers’ Day) ceremonies,were whipped in city of Sanandaj in Kurdistan.The blogger says we are all workers ,whip us all!
Bahrain: Lost causes?
Recently a number of bloggers have complained about a lack of real education, a lack of critical thinking, and a lack of political engagement in Bahrain. Ayesha Saldanha tunes into the Bahraini blogosphere to bring us the story.
Kuwait: A Dusty but Profitable Week
Dust storms are wreaking havoc in Kuwait. But amid the dust, there is a silver lining, with a Cabinet decision to grant an extra KD120 (US $435) monthly bonus for Kuwaitis employed in the public and private sectors. Abdullatif AlOmar has more.
Hindi: No smoking and Cricket Auctions
Amit Gupta takes us on a tour of the latest from the Hindi blogosphere, including bad news for male smokers, good news for cricket fans in Hyderabad, and hopeful news regarding the effort to curb the spread of AIDS.
Armenia: Overnight Demonstration
The Armenian Observer details his thoughts after spending a night with a few thousand Ter-Petrossian supporters camped out on Yerevan's Liberty Square following Tuesday's disputed presidential election in Armenia.
Trinidad & Tobago: Assisting Guyana
“Perhaps…this can be the precursor to a properly organised Caribbean-based defence initiative which…moves us one step closer, even through tragedy, to a single pan-Caribbean nation”: Keith in Trinidad shares his thoughts on T&T's offer of assistance to Guyana.
Jamaica, Haiti: Haitian Creole
“I learned many things from Felix Morisseau-Leroy and one of the most important was his commitment to the Haitian Creole language”: Geoffrey Philp posts one of the writer's poems.
Cuba: Stop the Presses?
“Hold the presses, stop the videocameras! The Great Deceiver may have fooled us again”: Review of Cuban-American Blogs wonders whether or not Fidel Castro's resignation should be taken at face value.
Bermuda: Immigration
Politics.bm has a suggestion for helping Bermuda's “appallingly slow Department of Immigration.”
