Stories from 28 August 2010
Guatemala: Attack Against a Blog?
Luis Figueroa reports [es] that blogger Guillermo Pineda wrote on Twitter, “My blog in WordPress.com was hacked. Anyone knows if I can recover it? #Hacked #Wordpress.” Luis wonders if this is an attack; in June Guillermo received threats [es] both in person and through email.
Morocco: The Sublime Sufi Revival
The rhythms of a Sufi revival are passionately reverberating through the corridors of Morocco, and they are not going unheard, especially by the nation’s youth.
Egypt: Ramadan Television and the Muslim Brotherhood
This year in Ramadan the Egyptian TV decided to produce a series about the opposition party Al-Ikhwan (The Muslim Brotherhood). The TV series, which is called El Gamaa, tries to shed light on the history of group and it's founder Hassan El Banna, bringing criticism from many bloggers that it reflects nothing but the regime's point of view.
Russia: The Mirny Diamond Mine
Siberian Light writes about the Mirny Mine, “the largest open pit diamond mine in the world, and […] the second largest excavated hole in the world.”
South Korea: Extras Went On Strike
In South Korea, about one hundred extras from movies and soap operas went on strike, protesting over low pay and verbal abuse in the work place, South Korea's Segye [kr] reported.
Russia: Mari Paganism and Charges of “Extremism”
OpenDemocracy.net reports: “In their remote forest republic 400 miles east of the Moscow, the pagan Mari people are once again being harassed by the authorities. […] Ethnically kin to the Finns and Hungarians, their profoundly ecological religious worldview challenges Russian-led designs on their republic’s natural resources.”
Japan: Anime Director Satoshi Kon's Last Message
Anime director Satoshi Kon died of pancreatic cancer on August 24th, at the age of 46. Kon's final message that was posted to his website resonated with fans around the world that mourn his passing.
Russia: Interview With RT's Peter Lavelle
An interview with RT's Peter Lavelle – at Sublime Oblivion.
Ukraine: Museum of Strategic Rocket Troops
Leigh Turner, the British Ambassador to Ukraine, writes about the Museum of the Strategic Rocket Troops, located some 300 km from Kyiv.
Palestine: Abu Rahmah convicted of incitement for non-violent protest
Strong international, European, Arab, blogger, Twitter and media condemnation followed the conviction of non-violent Palestinian peace activist Abdallah Abu Rahmah, sentenced to prison by Israeli military court. Gabriel Nada rounds up reactions in this post.
Russia: “Jailbird Moms”
A Good Treaty writes about two Russian “jailbird moms” – Anna Shavenkova and Yulia Kruglova: “Two court cases in recent weeks have given Russia’s bruised citizenry a few additional reminders that the world is a cruel, extremely stupid place to live. Both these cases involve mothers of young children, but...
Pakistan: Live Blogging Flood Relief Mission To Thatta Region
Teeth Maestro live blogs a flood relief mission to Thatta Region in Pakistan via CoveritLive and documents the journey live via GPS. “I believe that is the only way to share with the world what we see and hear on the ground,” Dr. Awab Alvi notes.
India: Floods In Jammu And Kashmir
Dilip D'Souza at Death Ends Fun describes his first hand experience of the flood situation in the Leh district of Jammu and Kashmir state in India.
Russia: Lake Baikal and James Cameron
Vadim Nikitin of FPA's Russia blog believes that Lake Baikal would be a “good fit” for James Cameron's “passionate environmental activism.”
Ukraine: Anthem in 14 Languages
Ukraine's national anthem performed in 14 languages (Ukrainian, Greek, Tatar, Gagauz, Polish, Romanian, Georgian, Yiddish, Romani, Russian, Hungarian, Belarusian, Armenian, Azerbaijani) – at Ukrainiana.
Ethiopia/Eritrea: Languages spoken in Ethiopia/Eritrea
Learn about languages spoken in Ethiopia and Eritrea:”Amharic is the dominant and official language of Ethiopia.Whereas Eritrea does not have any official languages but English, Italian, Tigrinya, and Arabic are languages which are commonly used in official communication.”
Nigeria: Arrest Ibrahim Babangida
Adeola wants the former Nigerian President Ibrahim Babangida to be disqualified from contesting any election in Nigeria and be arrested and tried for treasonable felony.
Cameroon: A white person is eating me
Christina is an American volunteer in Cameroon. She has met a man who needs her help because,”He tells me that a white person is inside threatening his mother. And then the next day it is that a white person is eating him.”
Togo: Computer Camp in Togo
Life of an American volunteer in Togo:”In the beginning of June, we held our computer camp! The boys came the first three days and the girls came the three days after that. Everything actually went really smoothly.”
Russia: West Nile Virus Hits Volgograd Region
LJ user alliruk writes [RUS] that the South of Russia may turn into Africa because of the global warming. After listing recent unusual epidemics outbreaks in the Volgograd region, he mentions the recent West Nile Virus [EN] outbreak that had already killed six people [EN].
Southeast Asia: Durian, the “King of Fruits”
Durian is the ‘king of fruits’ in Southeast Asia. It is known for its strong smell and taste which are appreciated and detested at the same time by many people. In this post, bloggers from the region share their ‘durian stories.’
