Latest posts by Elia Varela Serra from 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.
Slovenia: Massive Hail
Una española/gallega en Eslovenia [Spanish] and Piran Café both reported (with photos) on the massive hail storm that hit Slovenia last Friday, damaging cars, windows and even roofs.
South Ossetia, Georgia: Journalists Killed, Foreigners Evacuated
Reportedly, two journalists have been killed amidst the fighting in Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, and several others have been wounded. At the same time, foreigners are being evacuated from Georgia and the situation remains tense, while everyone's holding their breath for a ceasefire.
Montenegro: A trip to Budva
Sajkaca of the group blog Balkan Crew describes a trip to the coastal town of Budva, Montenegro, including several photos.
Albania: A muslim country?
A Nevada Yankee in King Zog's Court discusses the changing role of religion in Albanian society, claiming that “after thousands of years of changing religious affiliations by Albanians in response to their circumstances, […] for the first time in Albanian history, fundamentalists of all stripes are intentionally taking actions to...
Georgia: Similarities with 1995 Croatia
Gray Falcon compares the current situation of South Ossetians in Georgia with that of Serbs in Croatia in 1995.
Georgia: A few .ge sites down
Colleen of the blog winthrop360 notes that a few .ge websites appear to be down, including the President of Georgia and the Parliament of Georgia.
Russia: August Coincidences
In reference to the war in South Ossetia starting on the opening day of the Beijing Olympics, Ruslanas Iržikevičius of Lituanica notes that several catastrophes in Russia started while important events were happening in other parts of the world, and that quite a few of those happened in the month...
Russia: Sexual harassment good for babymaking?
Natalia Antonova comments on the case of a Russian judge who dismissed charges of sexual harassment against an empolyer saying that “it is needed for the continuation of the human race”. Eternal Remont also gave his two cents on the strange ruling.
Russia: Violence on the Southern Borders
Erik of Sochi Travel comments on two recent disturbing developments in Southern Russia: a blast on one of the Sochi beaches in which two people died, and “Georgia waging new war on it’s breakaway republic – South Osetia”.
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Lost London Connection
Tim Clancy of the blog Pure Intent laments the cancelation of flights between Sarajevo and London. He says: “The city of London has done great things for this country. Although we do not bare the entire blame of this misfortune, we certainly are guilty of having our heads in the...
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...
Slovenia: Relaxation and History
Una española/gallega en Eslovenia [Spanish] describes a visit to the Topolšica spa in Slovenia, where the surrender of the German troups occupying the region was signed in 1945, ending the nazi presence in that part of Europe.
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