Here's the translation of one of today's top-rated posts at the Yandex Blogs portal, written by LJ user nl, one of the most popular Russian bloggers:
The degree of xenophobia in our wonderful land tends to remain underestimated right until you collide with its fruit and feel the shame for it with your own skin.
[My wife] is looking for a babysitter for [our baby daughter Maria]. She gets in touch with yet another potential babysitter and gives her the details in brief: the child's age, what kind of work, the amount of it…
Do you know what the first question of the potential babysitter is?
She asks:
- Tell me, have they informed you that I am not [ethnic] Russian?
As usual Egypt again keeps us busy this week, where a security guard has been sentenced to six months in prison for refusing to guard the Israeli Embassy in Cairo.
Egyptian blogger Nora Younis, posts a poem by Majeed Al-Barghouthi dedicated to jailed Egyptian security guard Mohammed Khalaf Hassan Ibrahim. Ibrahim, as I have mentioned earlier, had refused to obey orders and guard the Israeli Embassy in his country.
Farsi Tube or Iranian You Tube, launched in the US at the end of last year, attracts 3,000 visitors daily, says its co-founder Sherwin Noorian. On a busy day, the figure could leap to 7,000 visitors who are there to catch the latest videos Persian-speakers are posting on the site.
In addition to Farsi Tube, the founders are now planning to launch a forum and blog to create a social network rather than an entertainment place for speakers of Farsi. Noorian, one of co-founders of Farsi Tube, has given us the following interview:
Q- May you introduce yourself and Farsitube (FT)?
A- I'm Sherwin Noorian, a student in Texas, US. Two of my friends and I, started FarsiTube.com. FarsiTube is a video sharing community targeted towards Iranians, and has all kinds of videos about Iran and Iranian culture. The site has music videos, funny clips, political videos, entertainment videos, satirical clips, full length movies, and more. Anyone can post a video on FarsiTube, and people can comment, share, and bookmark videos.
Q-What is the added value of FT for the Iranian or non Iranian community?
A- We feel that FarsiTube brings tremendous value to the Iranian community. It's a place where they can go and easily browse hundreds of videos and immerse themselves in Iranian culture. In a time where the gap between Iranians living in Iran, and those who live in Europe or North America grows wider, FarsiTube attracts Iranians from all over the world. They can feel connected to what is going on in Iran politically, or they can simply be entertained. Also, they can check out videos made by FarsiTube users and share them with their friends. The site creates a sense of community and identity.
(more…)
KZBlog summarizes Kazakhstan's president's address to the nation, a speech outlining the government's goals for the next year.
Blog Politique du Sénégal quotes candidate Moudou Dia's declaration that at the voting center where he, his wife and two friends voted for him, he officially received no votes. The blog humorously adds (Fr): “To take 3 to 4 votes from a man who barely got .13% of the vote is a bit mean” and wonders whether Dia's decision not to contest the results isn't motivated by his desire for a minister post.
Mirsulzhan Namazaliev reports on rumors that Kyrgyzstan's opposition is planning large, well-organized protests against the president for later this month.
Kamneed's Friday photos from Kazakhstan feature Almaty residents at work (RUS).
EspaceMaroc announces (Fr) the 4th International Magic Festival to take place in Marrakech mid-March and adds :”Having become one of the most marking events of the city, the festival seeks to promote magician arts by offering a popular attraction, democratizing magic shows by offering them to the public… [and] by offering free magic shows to orphan children of the region. “
InternetRapide.com writes (Fr): “The Sytek Gwadloup Company, in partnership with the Guadeloupean Region and ANPE Art, Culture et Spectacles are initiating the First Cinema and A/V Technology conference on March 1st and 2nd, 2007.” The conference seeks to present the latest A/V technologies to A/V professionals and to provide them an opportunity to network with each other.
Bangkok Pundit translates Thai a news story that talks about senior military leaders meeting to discuss rumors of terrorist attacks in Bangkok coinciding with holidays.
Jotman writes about one of the conditions that Vietnam has to fulfill in order to enter WTO - slash taxes on automobile purchases. “That's a pretty stark example of how a trade agreement can undermine the the quality of life in an urban center, and comprimise the ability of a state to manage its own transportation infrastructure.” The blogger suggests a possible solution in his post.
Luis M. Garcia reports briefly on a survey conducted by a meetings and conventions industry newsletter to determine whether event planners would consider Cuba a potential meeting destination if the US lifted the current travel ban.