Stories from 12 August 2008
Uganda: On Looking Whiter
Tumwijuke of Ugandan Insomniac discusses skin tone issues in Africa after seeing a cosmetic commercial in which Beyonce's skin looks digitally whitened, wondering “Why are our supermarkets filled with cosmetics from Johnson and Johnson that promise to brighten your color and return you to the fairness of your youth?” And...
New African Aggregator
White African reports that the news aggregation site Alltop has just created an Africa page, Africa.Alltop.com, with the aim of giving African news and bloggers “additional attention outside of the traditional African blog echo chamber”.
Ethiopia: Haile Gerima's film in Venice
Arefe of Addis Journal reported that Ethiopian filmmaker Haile Gerima‘s latest feature is going to be in the official competition for the 65th Venice's Film Festival, starting at the end of this month. Sean of Africa is a country also noted the participation of the film, titled Teza, in the...
Ethiopia: Teddy Afro's lawyer in jail, then released
Arefe of Addis Journal reports that the lawyer of popular Ethiopian singer Teddy Afro has been released after spending a few days in jail with his client. The lawyer had been found guilty on charges of contempt of court, adding some more drama to the singer's trial that has captured...
East African Embassies Bombings Anniversary
Brian of Black Star Journal remembers de 10th anniversary of the bombings of the American embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania with links to regional press accounts on the anniversary.
Mauritania: The coup and ECOWAS protocols
The sword of truth condemns the recent coup d'état in Mauritania as it contravene's the protocols of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). He concludes: “The military remain to be only an impediment to democracy in Mauritania”.
Uganda: Olympic Presence
Jeremy Goldberg of Millennial Challenge gives an overview of Uganda's Olympic medal history and comments on the Ugandan Olympic team in Beijing, comprised of 12 athletes.
Albanian Olympic Team
Kolin of Living in Shkoder gives an overview of the Albanian team at the Beijing Olympics, which includes 11 athletes.
Russia: Ingushetian Website Closure
LJ user kaloy comments on (RUS) a ruling by the Moscow City Court to close down the website ingushetiya.ru and its potential consequences for freedom of expression on the Internet.
Georgia War: US Loss in Georgian Gambit
LJ user saintrio presents (RUS) his views on the Russo-Georgian conflict and draws principal and historical parallels.
Japan: Rumors of idol photo in Olympics press kit
From 2channel, rumors [ja] that a photo of Japanese idol Yuko Ogura appears hidden in the press kit handed out at the Olympics in Beijing.
Georgia War: Russian Critique of Western Media Coverage
LJ user rusglory discusses (RUS) how Western media – from a Russian point of view – have been complicit to Georgia's information war and comments on pictures alllegedly illustrating his point.
Georgia War: What Status for Russian Forces in Georgia?
LJ user dao_b asks (RUS) the potentially provocative question of what status the Russian forces in Georgia have: Peacekeepers when part in an armed conflict or occupiers?
Georgia War: Questioning Ukrainian Arms Trade to Georgia
Taras Kuzio writes about alleged crimes in Ukrainian arms’ trade with Georgia and suggests that some of the guilty should be brought to justice – paradoxically ex President Kuchma and former Prime Ministers Yanukovich and Kinakh.
Brazil: Olympics, war and elections
"I confess that I am the biggest fan of the Olympics and that I woke at 5 am on Saturday to see the Gymnastics competition. But every once in a while it is good to look further and see what is beyond an event as large as this", says a 16 year old blogger.
Japan: Mainichi to shut down website? WaiWai controversy continues
In the latest installment of the ongoing WaiWai saga, news [ja] is climbing the bookmarks [ja] in Japan that Mainichi is investigating the possibility of shutting down the online version of its newspaper. Meanwhile, 2channel has discovered that the WaiWai column existed before the Internet [ja] (contrary to what some...
Georgia War: Peace Threatens Territorial Integrity
Da Rússia [Portuguese] writes about the problems with a Russo-Georgian peace treaty brokered by French president Sarkozy, and refers to Russian analysts’ conclusion that it might continually set Georgia's territorial integrity in question.
China: Faking the Olympic opening ceremony, at what expense?
The buzz on Tuesday was that two major components of the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony had been faked, leaving a very bad taste in many bloggers' mouths.
Georgia War: Russian Disappointment With Belarus
Osteuropablog discusses (GER) an article on Russian newssite Novyj Region 2, claiming that Moscow is disappointed with failing support from Minsk during the Russo-Georgian conflict.
Georgia War in Initial Retrospective
GUS-News presents (GER) a retrospective of developments in the Russo-Georgian crisis in the last few days, with an emphasis on Russia.
Georgia War: Georgia Will Join NATO
AnTyx claims that NATO Secretary General has expressed certainty of future Georgian NATO-membership, and continues to account for Estonian reaction to the conflict, concluding with the statement – quoting John McCain – “I am a Georgian”.
