Stories from 7 August 2008
Bahrain: Undesirable Visitors
Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif claims the country's Ministry of Information, responsible for censorship, has been visiting his blog, where he maintains a list of banned blogs and sites.
Bahrain: 225 Jailed Demonstrators Released
Bahrain's King has pardoned 225 people arrested for taking part in demonstrations, reports blogger Mahmood Al Yousif. “His majesty might also consider the fact that without such social justice, many of those released and others might continue to demonstrate to express their chagrin at the iniquitous circumstances they find themselves...
Lebanon: The Beirut Spring Family
To cater to different readers, Lebanese blogger Mustapha has tweaked his blog – Beirut Spring. The Beirut Spring ‘family’ is now made up of Beirut Spring Tabloid and Beirut Spring Business.
Lebanon: Fires and Global Warming
Summer forest fires have been erupting in what is left of the Lebanese wilderness for years now. And every year, the blame game is played; starting with parties and politicians blaming each other for not being prepared, to blaming each other for intentionally starting the flames. So, what do the bloggers have to say about this?
Kuwait: New Gym Segregation Law Soon
Writing at ZDistrict, Kuwaiti blogger Marzooq says a new law will soon be introduced to ensure complete segregation in gyms.
Iran: Syria plays with Iran card
Mohmmad Ali Abtahi, former vice president and blogger, says[Fa] that Syria plays with Iran card for its own interests. Contrary to Syria's policy, Iran supported this country when it was in trouble.
China: Pollution levels around Olympic venues
Off the Map blogger Sean Gorman and friends have taken Chinese government pollution data and made a mashup map of pollution levels in the areas surrounding Olympic venues in Beijing. Code to embed the map here.
Iran:Iran suspended the punishment of death by stoning
A judiciary spokesman said that the punishment of death by stoning has been suspended in Iran.Amatour, an Iranian blogger, calls[Fa] this decision a very good news and remind us that several high ranked clerics have been against stoning.
Russia: Who is Fit for Civil Service?
Eternal Remont posts an ironic comment, based on a Financial Times article, about the new drive in Russia to find suitable civil servants.
China: Second Olympic terrorism threat video released
Following last month's Olympics terrorism threat/confession video claiming to be from a group called the Turkestan Islamic Party, another video has been released. Judging from the look of it, this clip will be even less convincing than the one before it. See the Xinjiang-based The New Dominion and The Opposite...
China: More Opening Ceremony sneaked footage
An indignant French-writing journalist has, along with a lengthy rant, posted video taken this week during an opening ceremony rehearsal inside the Bird's Nest. Hong Kong entertainer Jackie Chan and Tibetan singer Han Hong can be seen on stage. Note that in the comments one reader shares the most popular...
Iraq's Jews
Iraqi blogger Wameeth draws our attention to Iraqi Jews. “Iraqi Jews are one of the most sensitive topics in Iraq, one of largest markets in Iraq in the center of Baghdad trade market is called the Jew market ,it was the center of all the trade in Iraq till the...
Dominica, Antigua: One Caribbean?
Following news of the murder of a honeymooning British couple in Antigua, Danielle Jones at Dominica Weekly says: “While some of us may be inclined to brush this incident off as an Antiguan problem, in reality it has implications for the wider Caribbean. It comes just weeks after our CARICOM...
Jamaica: Independence Day
Jamaica just celebrated its 46th year of Independence from Britain and several bloggers marked the occasion with posts that ranged from thoughtful critiques to excited celebration...
Poland: Endless Celebration of History
Pawel of Polandian writes about the 1st of August anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, including several photos of the remembrance celebrations in a post titled “Poles must stop living in the past”. He writes: “The fact that we decide to focus all our popular celebrations around history means...
Czech Republic: Prague Churches
Strog's Prague pictures & opinions diverses [French] has been writing about several churches in Prague, including many pictures. Most recently, he has described in great detail the Gothic church of sv. Václava na Zderaze, the Baroque sv. Jana na Skalce (in French St Jean -de Népomucène- sur le rocher) and...
Jordan: Polygamy is Rare and Accepted
Jordanian The Black Iris discusses polygamy in the kingdom – a practice he admits is rare, “yet relatively accepted to some extent.”
Russia: Solzhenitsyn – Hero or Traitor?
LJ user webgolos surveys (RUS) whether Russian bloggers perceive recently deceased writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn as a hero or traitor – or perhaps simply as an author. So far, results are 46% hero, 16% traitor, and 38% simply an author.
Belarus: Restrictive Media Law Confirmed
Vitaly Portnikov comments on (RUS) the new and restrictive Belarusian media law that has now been confirmed by the country's president, Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
Estonia: City Spirits
Itching for Eestima compares the different spirit of the citizens of Estonia's two biggest cities – Tallinn and Tartu.
Soviet History: Russian-Korean Migration in Central Asia II
Otto's Random Thoughts expands upon a previous story about Russian-Korean migration in Central Asia from the late 1930s.
