Archive for
March 23rd, 2007
Stories
Kuwait: Are Bloggers Such a Threat?
This was the question posed by a Kuwaiti blogger following the sudden axing of a popular television programme The Diwaniya, which was aired on government-run Kuwait Television Channel One (Arabic).
The Diwaniya literally translates to a room common in Kuwaiti homes, in which people gather to discuss their everyday lives, including social, economic and political matters.
The programme, hosted and directed by political analyst Dr Shafeeq Ghabra, is sociopolitical in nature and is aimed at opening up dialogue and bridging gaps between generations. Its weekly episodes openly debated the challenges facing the Middle East and also focused on the various issues affecting Kuwait today.
The programme was taken off air without prior warning after an episode featuring a group of Kuwaiti bloggers as well as Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif, was taped.
Al Yousif talks about his experience here.
“The discussion was excellent, though probably too short of course to cover all the topics we wanted to cover; however, it is enough to entice the viewer to investigate blogging and maybe think of starting a blog themselves, which would be an excellent result of this program. Because of the topics discussed, I hope that the community too will be more aware of our activities and read our blogs to know us better and share in our passions and things that we choose to cover.
“The program is anticipated to be aired in April. I shall let you know the actual date when the schedule is actually confirmed,” he explains.
Prosperous Armenia party everywhere!!!
As early as “@ 2007-03-21 09:07:00″ Narjan (ru) reported that the word “DOD” is charcoaled on the wall of presidential palace in Yerevan, which was promptly cleaned up (ru) to spoil the joy of the bloggers, who nevertheless appreciated the efficiency of cleaning works.
Later on 22nd March via CRD / TI Armenia Election Monitor 2007 and JLiving notes (ru) we learn, that Armenian newspaper Haykakan Zhamanak has a cover story article about the incident:
HJ says (with picture) that yesterday the President of RA had meeting with security ministers. The meeting is called because expression “DOD” was written on the walls of President’s residency on Bagramian street. It is obvious that the action aimed at stating an association of the President with the head of Prosperous Armenia, Gagik Tsarukayn, whose nickname is DODI GAGO. In addition, Tsarukyan’s picture on Hayastan Trade House was spoiled by red paint. (CRD / TI Armenia Election Monitor 2007)
DRC: Violence, Bloggers Trapped, Sleeping on Floor, and Soldiers Looting
Violent clashes broke out Thursday in the Congo's capital, Kinshasa, between goverment soldiers and troops loyal to Jean-Pierre Bemba, a former warlord. Mainstream media and blogs are reporting heavy gunfire, explosions, and looting around the city. The clashes result from a dispute over Bemba's personal guard's refusal to join the Congolese army.
Jean-Pierre Bemba, a warlord turned senator and leader of Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC), has taken refuge in the South African embassy in Kinshasa. Bemba was one of four vice-presidents in the Congolese transitional government. He lost the 2006 presidential race to the incumbent, Joseph Kabila, after two rounds of voting. He later contested for a senate seat and won.
Bloggers in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been providing first-hand accounts of the clashes and life in the capital. Some bloggers have been writing hour by hour account of the events.
Congo Girl is critical of the role of the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC)
I am uncertain whether MONUC is playing right now. They are not taken seriously because of their mandate to NOT engage in combat. They successfully evacuated a bunch of VIPs to their compound, and my boss here said can't I just call William Swing “the President” (she really confused someone else with that joke) and tell him to make it stop. I asked for his number but didn't get one.
According to Congo Girl, the clashes have resulted in the closure of the airport in Kinshasa:
The airport is closed, so certain people scheduled to leave could not. I am worried about being ordered to evacuate - I would rather stay and get my work done. A friend of mine is stuck in Brazzaville till further notice, and her family is concerned about whether they will make it here for their visit.
Something happened when she (Congo Girl) was blogging:
Ah crap, gunfire on my corner again.
Small taste of Chilean writers and poetry part I
Chile is well known as a country of poets, including Nobel Prize Winners Gabriela Mistral, the first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature (1945) and Pablo Neruda, one of the most influential poets of the 20th century (1971).
Gabriela Mistral (ES) was not only a poet, she was also a public school teacher and a revolutionary as well. She worked hard to change the way Chileans understand education. In 1922 she receive an invitation to work for the Mexican government in order to help develop educational reforms. Here is a sample of her work, from the poem “Rocking”(ES).
El mar sus millares de olas
mece, divino.
Oyendo a los mares amantes,
mezo a mi niño.
El viento errabundo en la noche
mece los trigos.
Oyendo a los vientos amantes,
mezo a mi niño.
Dios Padre sus miles de mundos
mece sin ruido.
Sintiendo su mano en la sombra
mezo a mi niño
Bahrain: Storms and D-cups
Bahrain was enveloped in a heavy dust storm on Thursday night, the beginning of the weekend, and TechZ wrote about getting caught in it:
I couldn’t see anything ahead, other than for the windshield and my wipers. Headlights were useless in this much sand and rain drops. I had to wait till the wind died down just enough to make out the road ahead of me and crawl at a few km/h home bound.
Manaf Almuhandis thinks he should have had advance notice, given his family connections:
Ironic that it catches us by surprise since my father is a meteorologist. He hardly ever warns us for some reason.
Another storm has taken over Bahrain's cyberspace this week – a debate about a branch of the American chain Hooters, known for its scantily clad waitresses, being opened in Dubai. According to Mahmood:
The issue…is the continuing disappearance of the Arab and Muslim culture from that thriving city, a fact which has been quite evident for some time. If they understand and appreciate this state of affairs, then all power to them. I hope they make their residents and visitors happy. But is there space for both to coexist?
Nepal: Roar against Internet Shutdown
The decision of the Internet Service Providers Association of Nepal (ISPAN) to shut down internet services for two hours – one each in morning and evening – didn’t have good effect on bloggers. The shutdown was a part of the protest program announced by the Nepal’s industrialists against the Maoists’ beating of a hotelier. But most of the bloggers who condemned the Maoists action were angered by the internet shutdown. While the ISPs are back to providing their service through the day and we're all online, bloggers from Nepal had a lot to say about the issue.
Informing about the shutdown, My Sansar wrote:
काठमाडौँ उपत्यकामा इन्टरनेट सेवा अहिले अपराह्न ४ बजेदेखि बन्द भएको छ । एक घण्टाका लागि इन्टरनेट सेवा प्रदायकहरुको संगठन आइस्पानले यो बन्द गरेको हो। उद्योगीव्यापारीहरुको आन्दोलनप्रति ऐक्यवद्धता जनाउँदै नेपालमा नै पहिलो पटक यस्तो किसिमको बन्द गरिएको हो ।
The internet service has closed down from 4:00PM today. The Internet Service Providers Association of Nepal called this one-hour shutdown in solidarity with the protest program of industrialists. This is the first time internet has been shutdown in Nepal by the providers.
United We Blog! used harsh words to condemn the shutdown calling it a foolish thing and demanding the compensation to the customers and public commitment for no more shutdowns.
Who are these folks to close down the service that is branded as ESSENTIAL? We don’t need another Gyanendra Shah to deprive us from Internet. [Gyanendra closed down Internet in Nepal for a week when he took over the government in the Feb 2005 coup.] We don’t need another information and communication blackout on any excuse. NO.
Mero Guff describes an incident when he was unable to log in for an important work and upon knowing about the shutdown through (more…)
Links for Fri, 2007-03
Tajikistan Journal shares photos of Navruz celebrations out in the provinces.
Alexa writes about name brand knock-offs in Mongolia, speculating that perhaps their popularity will build brand loyalty that will lead to success for genuine articles in the future.
Registan.net publishes the text of a letter from US Senator and presidential candidate Joseph Biden to Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev that the senator's office says should not appear in the press.
Tolkun Umaraliev surveys the Uzbek blogosphere.
This week's Friday photos from Kazakhstan at neweurasia are of Nauryz celebrations in Almaty.
The Latin Americanist refers to an Amnesty International report on widespread discrimination against Haitians in the Dominican Republic.
chapati mystery on the situation in Pakistan, and how it threatens Musharraf's seat of power. “Two weeks ago, General Musharraf suspended the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, on vague corruption charges. Since then, daily riots and protests have broken out in major cities; the goverment has tried to shut down tv stations which reported on these riots; the police have repeatedly assaulted the lawyers who are leading the process. “
MumbaiGirl, who is an Indian living in London, travels to Pakistan. “At the Badshahi Mosque I was immediately reminded of Fatehpur Sikri. There’s something so right about the squareness that the Mughals achieved. The body feels right enclosed in a space like this, precisely because it doesn’t feel enclosed.”
Biting satire at Broken News. Wonder what would happen if there was a competition for the top tyrant? “World number one Kim Il Jong of North Korea commented on the challenge being made on his position saying, ‘Mugabe doesn’t frighten me – he’s been playing this game for decades and he’s still only number three! Musharraf and Mahinda are more interesting because of their facial hair.”
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