Stories from 4 May 2008
Iran: 3 million dollars for Lebanon
In Shatot, we read[Fa] that Mayor's Office in Tehran has contributed about 3 million dollars to help Shi'ites in Lebanon. The blogger protests against such act and says with all the misery that we have in Iran why we should send money to Lebanon!
Iran:Ballet Afsaneh
Aref-Adib an Iranian creative blogger has published a video film of Ballet Afsaneh performing at British Museum. Ballet Afsaneh presents classical dances of Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and India.
Georgia: Soviet Archives Opened
Social Science in the Caucasus reports on the opening of Communist party archives to researchers in Georgia. The blog says that a working group is even releasing archival bulletins in Georgian and English. It considers the material stored in the archive of extreme interest as well as importance.
Iran: Nuclear Fashion
Thanks to Hamed Noori, we can watch a young Iranian woman models an Islamic covering with atoms in the shape of a nuclear logo used as part of the design in Tehran.
Iran: International Book Fair
Mohmmad Ali Abtahi, former vice president and blogger, visited [Fa] Internatioal Book Fair in Tehran. He says there were many visitors. He adds that government's policy has made cultural activities such as publishing books difficult.
Armenia: Post-Election Political Dialogue
Unzipped comments on the recent congress held by those opposition forces supporting Levon Ter-Petrossian. The blog says that the former president clearly indicated a “readiness for dialogue” with the authorities, but says that there are certain requirements which need to be met first.
Georgia: Election Time Tensions with Russia
TOL Georgia says that whenever elections are planned, a scandal involving Russia always occurs. The comment comes after the recent apparent downing of a Georgian drone by a Russian MiG-29 and threats from Russia regarding the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Congo's other natural resource
Congolese blogger Cédric Kalonji [Fr] writes about a weekend visit to the Zongo waterfalls: “Even if the trip was exhausting, this little weekend getaway did me good and helped me realize once again that my country is very beautiful, and beyond minerals, its tourist potential constitutes a whole other resource...
Zimbabwe: The presidential poll numbers
Zimbabwe presidential poll numbers: “Here are the total counts per presidential candidate, according to The Herald. We were hoping to see the breakdown by constituency… but not yet it seems…”
Malawi: Reactions to former president political comeback
Recently, the United Democratic Front (UDF) of Malawi's former president Bakili Muluzi had a convention and elected him as their presidential candidate in next year's election. His only challenger was Malawi's vice president Dr Cassim Chilumpha who is answering treason charges. Lilongwe-based blogger Austin Madinga says he Muluzi's comeback is for wrong reasons.
Benin: Election results, if Benin were the United Nations
Babilown [Fr] puts Benin's local election results in perspective: “[it's as if] the opposition won China, Russia, Brazil and Mexico, while the ruling party snatched up Belgium and even Canada, but also Crete, Malta, the Cayman Islands, the Vatican, Albania, Haiti, Barbados, Cap Verde, Estonia, Lithuania, Israel, Jordan, Rwandan, Saint...
Tajikistan: Emomali’s Legal Team
Ian opines on the level of competence and integrity of the Tajikistan's government, as he learns that the Tajik president has spent more than 5% of the country’s entire GDP on legal fees against former partners in Tajikistan’s aluminum projects.
Afghanistan: Release of Kidnapped Pakistani Ambassador
Sanjar deliberates on the Taliban's implication in kidnapping of the Pakistani ambassador to Afghanistan Tariq Azizuddin in February this year.
Iran:Press in danger
Schrr reports[Fa] that in one year 25 magazines and newspapers are banned and 47 sites and blogs are filtered in Iran.
Bolivia: Autonomy Referendum Raises Questions
Santa Cruz, Bolivia will head to the polls today in a department-wide referendum on a controversial autonomic statute, which would grant more administrative and economic powers to the state government. Not every Cruceño will participate, however, as many share the opinion of the central government that the referendum is illegal and unconstitutional. Bloggers, no matter where they stand on the statute, hope for no incidents of violence.
Blogger of the Week: Laura Vidal
One of the Lingua translators from Global Voices in Spanish, Laura Vidal, enjoyed her experience so much, that she wanted to become more involved and try her hand at writing about blogs in her native country of Venezuela. Her recent work has helped showcase much of what Venezuelan bloggers have to offer, and many of her subject matter goes beyond the polarized politics that usually comes to mind.
