Stories from 31 July 2008
Sri Lanka: Videos on the 1983 riots
The Vikalpa YouTube video channel has 30 short videos on the ethnic riots in Sri Lanka in July 1983.
Sri Lanka: SAARC and Failures
groundviews on the SAARC summit in Sri Lanka and why their initiatives tend to fail.
Bangladesh: Sensitivity Training
a bengali in TO on sensitivity training for border staff in Canada to deal with Arab and Muslim travelers.
China: VPN to beat Olympic internet censorship
Via PandaPassport‘s Rick Martin on Facebook: “For anyone inside China, this is a great way to be able to view whatever content you like. Just a quick software install and you're ready to go…give it a try.
Saudi Arabia: Is Divorce an Easy Word?
With divorce rates soaring to an all new high in Saudi Arabia, Saudi blogger 3abira Sabeel [Ar] asks: “Has divorce become such an easy word?” Amira Al Hussaini translates 3abira's post from Arabic, which discusses how different today's women are from their grandmothers and why young women and men find it easy to dissolve their unions.
Brazil: Gilberto Gil leaves the Culture Cabinet
Many blogs have been reporting that Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil has left the cabinet, which he had headed since 2003. He plans to give priority to his musical career.
Lebanon: Israel Lies about Killing Children
“Quntar says the child was killed in a crossfire by the sea. I don't believe him and I don't defend him, but neither do I believe the version of the Israeli army; it has always killed children and lied,” writes Lebanese journalist Jihad Al Khazen, on his personal blog Khazen...
Morocco: The View From Fez's News Roundup
The View from Fez provides a weekly news roundup, sharing news of Casablanca's Boulevard des Jeuenes Musiciens as well as the anniversary of King Mohammed VI's accession to the throne.
Lebanon: Syria and Israel
“How much groveling (toward Israel) can advocates and propagandists for the Syrian regime do in one week? The answer is: plenty. And please: tell the Syrian regime not to speak on behalf of all Arabs when they promise peace and normalization with Israel. And remember that Sadat had promised them...
Lebanon: On Hizbullah and Hamas
“Hizbullah is effective in fighting Israel and ineffective in fighting its domestic rivals. Hamas is ineffective in fighting Israel but effective in fighting its domestic rivals,” notes The Angry Arab News Service.
Brazil: The 200 top blogs
Mundo Tecno [pt] published a list of the 200 most popular Brazilian blogs according to the Blogblogs ranking. Meio Bit [pt] is the top one.
Barbados: Setting Standards
As the government is granted a US$5 million International Development Bank loan to upgrade the national standards system, Barbados Free Press continues its call for standards to be adopted with regard to public accountability and transparency.
Dominica, U.S.A.: Politics & People
Chris at Dominica Weekly has “taken a strong interest in the US Presidential Election”, which leads him to consider the state of politics in his own country: “Perhaps the most effective thing we can do is speak our truth to power, speak up for what we need, and demand certain...
Cape Verde: Blog for Education
Today is the African Woman Day and to mark the date a new blog has been launched in Cape Verde: Blog pela Educação [Blog for Education, pt], where a group of bloggers aim to collect and spread information regarding the country's mentality of banning pregnant girls from schools – and...
Cuba, Venezuela, U.S.A.: Empty Dialogue?
Cuban bloggers Babalu and Ninety miles away…in another country focus on U.S. Republican senator Arlen Specter's upcoming Latin American trip, during which he hopes to meet with both Raul Castro and Hugo Chavez: “The Cuban government has made clear that the only thing it is interested in is the unilateral...
Barbados, Canada: Caribana Fever
“Wha happen Crop Over music from Crop-Over this year cant reach here? Dem waiting on steam boat to bring the tunes? Man this is internet era, download man download”: Barbadian diaspora blogger Jdid explains why he is not one to catch “Caribana Feva”.
Guyana: Death Announcement Ban?
Living Guyana reports that the President plans to ban the broadcast of death announcements because they “are too negative and make people unhappy”, yet MediaCritic notes: “There is still no proper strategy to fight the rampant exploding crime in Guyana.” GT…Keep It Real chimes in: “Presi trying to jack up...
Armenia: Agra Hadig
Martuni or Bust reports on the tradition of agra hadig which celebrates the appearance of a baby's first tooth. A large collection of objects is also placed in front of the child, and whichever one he or she chooses is said to determine their later profession.
Armenia: NATO Cooperation
Window on Eurasia argues that Armenia's continued involvement in exercises staged under the auspices of the NATO Partnership for Peace Program marks an increasingly evident move towards Western rather than Russia military structures.
Armenia: Hacked Attack Sites?
Nazarian reports that two Armenian sites, Policy Forum Armenia and my own The Caucasian Knot, have been flagged as attack sites by Google. 517 Design carries more information on what appears to be the work of hackers.
Tube Adventure: A Bilingual Quest Game on YouTube
The popular Spanish YouTube channel Pinofas has created a novel project: it's an hero adventure quest live-action game that takes advantage of the new tagging, linking and commenting capabilities that YouTube has implemented, called Tube Adventure.
