Stories from 21 April 2008
Lebanon: The Lebanese Leftist
Bassem Hassan explains the “simple” things that qualify someone as a Lebanese leftist.
Malawian Bloggers Discuss The Zimbabwe Crisis
As bloggers from across Africa write about the elections crisis in Zimbabwe, Malawian bloggers join in the condemnation of the delay in releasing the election results, with at least one blogger pointing to the one-sided nature of the discussions on the causes of Zimbabwe’s economic and political problems.
Lebanon: Media reporting on Gaza
“So now the headline is that there is ‘unrest’ in the Gaza strip. Last week, I felt unrestful: I didn't know whether to take chicken taouk or shwarma – but...
Lebanon: Sunnification of R. Hariri?
“When religion sleeps with politics, the outcome is an ugly bastard,” declares Tantalus while suspecting the beginning of the “Sunnification” of the late Rafic Hariri, who was previously dubbed as...
Lebanon: Show-off all the time
“In Lebanon, everybody live in community. Everything you’re doing have to be known, by your friends, your family, your neighbors… it is show-off all the time,” observes élodie while writing...
Syria: Chocolate Thief
Wouldn't you hate it if someone waited for you to go pray, to steal your… chocolates?! Kinan from Jar of Juice, shares his “bitter” experience with a co-worker.
Singapore: How a terrorist escaped from a high-security cell
The Sun Shines on Singapore comments on a government report explaining how a terrorist escaped from a maximum security prison
Indonesia: 15 years for terrorist leaders
jubaonline writes that Indonesian terrorists who were sentenced to only 15 years in jail will be able to “walk out early because they didn't get life sentences.” The blogger adds...
Myanmar: Bomb blasts in Yangon
Ashin Mettacara reports that two bombs exploded in the largest city of Myanmar. No casualties were immediately reported.
Brunei: Making a bank bag
Spiritual Garden shows how she made a bank bag using a used envelope wrapped with papers torn from a fashion magazine.
Japan: Comfort Women Video Calls Attention to a Still Unresolved Issue.
More than 60 years have passed since the World War II, but women who claim to have been abducted under Japanese Military's orders to serve as sexual slaves on military...
South Africa: The Praise and Fall of Thabo Mbeki
South African President, Thabo Mbeki, is keeping bloggers increasingly active with his recent position on the situation in Zimbabwe, and bloggers are taking him to task. Here's a run-down of blogposts around the issue.
Bahamas: Tax Write-Off?
Sidney Sweeting at WeblogBahamas.com was shocked that “the ex-Minister of State for Finance said that Government should write off the almost $410 million (that figure is not a misprint) owed...
New Oil in Brazil Unleashes a Gusher of Media Controversies
Twisted information about the discovery of what may possibly be the third largest oil field in the world turned into a hot issue on the Brazilian blogosphere this week. The trigger was a comment from the head of Brazil's National Petroleum Agency [ANP], Haroldo Lima, mentioning that the recently found Carioca [or Sugar Loaf] field in Brazil’s offshore Santos Basin could potentially contain reserves of up to 33 billion barrels of oil and gas.
Trinidad & Tobago: Eating Less Meat?
Trinidadian blogger Nicholas Laughlin implores us to eat less meat.
Jamaica: Calabash 2008
Geoffrey Philp blogs about the 2008 Calabash literary festival in Jamaica and says that “Nobel Prize winning poet Derek Walcott is delighted about his upcoming appearance.”
Bermuda: Freedom of the Press
As Bermuda's Premier responds to international concern over the country's press freedoms, Vexed Bermoothes thinks that his letter “oozes with false sincerity and contorted logic.”
Jamaica, Martinique, Trinidad & Tobago: Lighting the Way
Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp is still processing the news of Aimé Césaire's death: “For if the goal of any life is freedom, then Aimé Césaire was a light”…while Caribbean Free...
Guyana: Walking Shoes
Guyana-Gyal goes for a walk.
Kazakhstan: Opposition's Renaming Approved Officially
Lena B-va reports that the major democratic opposition force of Kazkahstan, the “Azat” [Freedom] party celebrated official recognition of their new name by the Ministry of Justice.
Kyrgyzstan: President's Visit to Kazakhstan
Elena summarizes the results of the visit of President of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiev to Kazakhstan, which came shortly after territorial concessions to the northern neighbor.
