19 July 2010

Stories from 19 July 2010

Portugal: Seagulls Invade the city of Porto

  19 July 2010

A seagull problem has been occurring in Porto's historical center. Portuguese netcitizens report that the birds are hungry and fearless and have even killed pigeons. For Cristina Santos, they are scaring tourists with their attacks on the garbage piled in the streets. Marta, a tourist, witnessed what she calls a...

Armenia-Azerbaijan: Sometime in my lifetime

Scary Azeri makes a guest post on Armenia-Azerbaijan relations in the context of the still unresolved conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh as part of a series of entries using new and social media to bring the two sides closer together. Noting the popularity of her own posts...

Russia: Pictures of the Khimki Forest Defense

Photographer Igor Podgorny publishes [RUS] pictures from the camp of the defenders of the Khimki forest park [EN] situated in the Moscow's outskirts. After authorities started to cut the trees [RUS] (illegally) on July 15th, a group of environmentalists [RUS] erected barricades in order to stop the cuttings.

Chile: How to Fight Poverty

  19 July 2010

A recent Casen survey revealed an increase of 1.4% in poverty in Chile; that means that “just over 355 thousand people reached the poverty line for the first time in 2009,” as explained by The Pulse. In response to the survey, the bloggers from de la República [es] uploaded a...

Bolivia: Interview with Argentinean Blogger and Journalist

  19 July 2010

Alberto Medrano shares [es] his email interview with Dady Rubio, an Argentinean journalist and blogger [es]. In the interview Rubio answers questions about Argentina and its bicentennial celebration, but also about Bolivia, blogging and the Internet in Latin America.

India: Railway Or Death Trap?

  19 July 2010

Being Cynical at Desicritics reacts on today's tragic train accident in the Indian state of West Bengal and opines that the Indian railways are turning into a death trap.

Lebanon: Saving the Planet and Sustainability

In this post, Ghassan Karam argues that “the biggest threat to human civilization and biodiversity as we know it is the human species itself” since the increase in the population of the Earth is resulting in an inevitable ecological degradation. He also mentions that Lebanon ranks as the 129th most...

Lebanon: The Plight of Palestinian Refugees

“We can work in any field or industry, they can’t. We can learn for free, they aren’t allowed. We have access to free healthcare, they don’t. We enjoy our dignity and human rights while they struggle to simply maintain theirs. And this has been going on for a good portion...

Lebanon: Swimming Pool Discrimination

“A group of independent activists organized a direct action on a number of touristic resorts that adopt racist policies towards migrant workers in Lebanon on the basis of color, race, and class.”  The video in this post shows activists trying to get a migrant domestic worker (an activist of the Madagascari...

Egypt: Men and Women You Shouldn't Date

What started as an observation by an Egyptian blogger on Twitter on women you shouldn't date turned the microblogging site into a battlefield. Tweeps from Egypt and further afield joined the warring factions. Tarek Amr reports from the front line.

Pakistan: The Urge To Ban

  19 July 2010

Faisal Kapadia at Deadpan Thoughts criticizes the urge of some Pakistanis to ban any problematic thing: “a ban is never an answer to any dilemma since it is an extremely inefficient way of proving one’s point.”

Egypt: The Beginning

“Welcome all to ‘Bedayaa‘ (which translates to ‘The Beginning’ in Arabic) a long-awaited project, a special place for gays and lesbians in the Nile Valley- Egypt and Sudan”: A new online space has been created where LGBTQI from the Nile Valley can meet, talk, discuss issues, and share experiences. Take...

Lebanon: Don't kill your language!

Is the Arabic language being murdered? Dany Awad comments on a new awareness project taking part on the streets of Beirut, imploring passers-by not to kill their language. See photos of this innovative project in this post [AR].

Bangladesh: Freedom Of Speech And Book Ban

  19 July 2010

Bangladeshi singer, songwriter, poet and blogger Maqsoodul Haque at The Bangladesh Poet of Impropriety discusses the politics behind and effectiveness of the recent banning of book of a controversial religious leader.

Russia: Gas find in Lake Baikal

Windows to Russia reports that new gas hydrate fields have been found in Lake Baikal, adding to those already explored in the Black Sea. If technologically exploitable, these finds could become a major future energy source.

Hungary: Rich man, poor man

Pesticide.hu notes that the new model of luxury Louis Vuitton handbag arrived on the Hungarian market today, as both state bonds and the forint plummeted to new lows, forcing an overday repricing of named bag.