Stories from 4 September 2009
Morocco: Teaching “Berber” in Schools
A BBC News piece on the teaching of "Berber" languages in Morocco has got the blogoma talking. The article, which outlines the educational options for learning and studying the language, prompted a variety of posts. Jillian C. York has the story.
Bulgaria: Racism; Busmantsi Detention Center
Petya of How to Marry a Bulgarian writes about racism in Bulgaria and follows up with a post on the Busmantsi detention center for “illegal immigrants or people whose application...
Morocco: On Hijab
American expat blogger 760 Days in Morocco explains her motives for wearing hijab, in this post.
France: Secularity, Required for Democracy and Human Rights
The French concept of the secular seems so distinctive that even the English-language Wikipedia's entry on the issue uses the French term, laïcité, worded in French, to describe it. Suzanne Lehn explains the very different ways bloggers in the US and France view the separation of church and state.
A Guide to Blogging about Life with HIV/AIDS
In recognition of the hundreds of HIV-positive bloggers chronicling their lives worldwide, a group of online activists affiliated with Rising Voices have created a new guide to blogging about HIV/AIDS.
Pakistan: Secret US Base In Gharo, Sindh
Pakistan Ka Khuda Hafiz informs quoting sources within the Pakistan Navy that: “certain high-ranking individuals within the Naval forces are involved in secret construction of operational facilities in Gharo, Sindh,...
India: Give Your Life For A Leader
Amit Varma at India Uncut reacts to the news that 14 people died in different parts of Andhra Pradesh hearing about the death of Chief Minister of the state YSR...
Bahamas, Turks & Caicos: Federation?
News breaks that the Bahamian Prime Minister may be considering forming a federation between the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, prompting blogger Sidney Sweeting to comment: “Please note that our...
Bahamas: Skewed Priorities
As Customs Officers threaten to demonstrate over attempts to deal with alleged corruption within their ranks, Rick Lowe at Weblog Bahamas says: “We have so far to go.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Get A Plan
Trin wonders whether an approach like Florida's 10-20-Life Program, which proposed the toughest gun-crime law in the U.S., could work as a viable part of Trinidad and Tobago's crime plan.
Cuba, U.S.A.: Obama's Order
Writing for Havana Times, Circles Robinson reports that U.S. President Obama has finally signed the order allowing Cuban-Americans to travel to Cuba and send money more easily to family members...
Jamaica: Conformity?
“The Caribbean is, according to Rex Nettleford, the ideal model of what the world is trying to achieve through globalisation: different people and cultures and races melted into one big...
Palestine: A Call From The Prime Minister
Palestinian journalist Daoud Kuttab writes on his blog about receiving a phone call from Prime Minister Salam Fayyad: “In nearly 29 years of my journalist work and the thousands of...
Palestine: Encountering Fear
In the United States, Palestinian blogger Laila El Haddad recently spoke to a woman who seemed nervous of her: ‘”Where are you from?” I asked, detecting an East European accent....
Azerbaijan: Detained video bloggers go on trial
Despite significant international outcry from leading human rights and freedom of expression advocates, detained video blogger youth activists Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli today went on trial in Azerbaijan. Supporters live tweeted proceedings.
Palestine: Trying To Learn In Gaza
In Gaza, Eva Bartlett writes: “Palestinians have an exceedingly high drive to learn and attain higher education. Of course, here in a besieged Strip, with even school materials deemed non-vital...
South Africa: Taxis Defiant of New Bus System for World Cup
A new public transit bus system launched in time for the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa is being met with vociferous protests from drivers of taxis (mini busses). South African bloggers discuss.
Oman: Random Internet Censorship
From Oman, Riyadh Al Balushi updates us on what he describes as 'random Internet censorship' in this post.
India: Its Raining Blogs
Jayakrishnan Unnithan notices the abundance of blogs in the blogosphere and comments: “keep blogging if it is good it will be read and you will be a blog star, else...
China: Rights or rumors?
Siweilouzi translated Beijing University professor's opinion piece: the Public's Right to Question Shouldn't Be Misconstrued as Spreading Rumors.
China and Japan: Chinese people's reaction to the Japanese general election
The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) won the August 30th general election by landslide victory, bringing an end to more than 50 years of almost continuous rule by the Liberal...