Stories from 12 May 2007
Kuwait: It's Heating Up in Here !
Indoor activities are a big hit in Kuwait as summer temperatures soar. Bloggers discuss the programmes available in this week's round up by Abdullatif Alomar, which include indoor climbing and a tour of a moored sailing ship.
Somalia: protesting against illegal invasion
A YouTube video of Somali-American protest in Minnesota: “Somali-American protest in Minnesota What they called The illigal invasion of Ethiopian army in somalia with the support of George Bush's adminstration.”
D.R. of Congo: Congo's forgotten women
A post about Congo's forgotten women in the Sub-Saharan Africa Roundtable: “In 2001, after a disastrous misadventure in the Congo, Ugandan troops trekked back home with a cargo of hundreds of Congolese women they had “married” while fighting in that country. Most of them ended up in northern Uganda where...
Malawi: Introducing Malawian bloggers
Ndagha introduces Malawian bloggers: “Today, as I look at the road to blogging, I realise it is still a new journey for many fellow Malawians. Since the publication of an article “Malawians Turn to the blogosphere” in March this year, I have recieved lots of comments and enquiries on blogging....
Cape Verde: Cape Verdan basketball legacies
Basketball legacies from Cape Verde: “In examining the small but intriguing world of Cape Verdean basketball, there are two families who stand out quite prominently. In each case, the athlete is a young woman, and their Father, in one instance, and Uncle, in another, is coaching at the highest levels...
South Africa: Market Taliban versus Populist Taliban
Andile Mngxitama discusses the presidential succession debate in South Africa in terms of “Market Taliban versus Populist Taliban: “Developments around the presidential succession debate have brought to the fore, at least on the analytical plain, two main contending forces. These forces are symbolically represented in the persons of President Thabo...
Nigeria: Nigerian democracy for dummies
Nigerian democracy (DemoCrazy) for dummies from Ijebuman's diary: “A friend wanted to know about naija's democracy, so i've decided to do a dummies style tongue-in-cheek explanation of democracy naija style.”
Israel: Life in Sderot
Blogger Rick Richman brings us up-to-date with the latest developments in the Israeli town of Sdoret. “The invaluable One Jerusalem held a bloggers’ conference call today with Noam Bedein of the Sderot Media Center to provide some perspective. The audio of the call is here. Bedein told a story of...
Syria: Human Rights Activist Gets 12 Years in Jail
Syrian blogger Abu Kareem reports that human rights activist Kamal al-Labwani was sentenced to 12 years in prison for communicating with a foreign country and inciting it to initiate aggression against Syria.
Israel: Unreasonable Student Demands
Israeli blogger Imshin is disgusted with the ‘unreasonable’ demands by Israeli students enrolled in subsidized universities. “So what we have here is one of the strongest segments of society, who are behaving like spoilt brats, violently demanding that the state continue to heavily subsidize them. The state is suggesting, via...
Iraq: Tough Times Ahead
Iraqi blogger Omar gives us an overview of the political situation in Iraq. He admits that it is a rough time but insists that he will not panic. “The political process in Iraq has reached another very critical and important stage. This is the time that will decide if Iraq...
Iraq: New Guantanamo
Iraqi blogger Lady Bird links to a newspaper article which claims that there are 14,000 Iraqi prisoners held in her country – making it a new Guantanamo, which no one knows about.
Lebanon: On Syria in Iraq
Lebanese blogger Anton Efendi sheds light on the role Syria is playing in Iraq. “Reality is that Syria has zero assets inside Iraq. It has no influence over any Iraqi political group (here's a test, to contrast with Iran: name a single Iraqi politician that can be said to be...
Israel: Palestinians Banned from Dead Sea
Blogger Dan Fleshler reports that IDF soldiers have received orders to prevent Palestinians from accessing the Dead Sea. “This is the kind of story that feeds into the increasingly popular tendency to equate Israel with South Africa under apartheid. I don’t buy into this equation…yet. There are a number of...
Lebanon: Arab Women in Photographs
An exhibition of photographs of Arab women leaves Lebanese blogger Leila Abu-Saba scratching her head. “I do scratch my head, however, at the breathless description of the purpose of the show. See Arab women cross-dressing! Unveiled! Scantily clad! Those poor Arab women, they used to be liberated and now they're...
Palestine: End Occupation Rallies Planned
Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah reports about mass protests to end Israeli occupation, planned on June 9th and 10th in Washington, DC.
Japan: Forced Confessions
Debito comments on a New York Times article describing the case of 13 men and women “acquitted this year in a local district court, which found that their confessions had been entirely fabricated“. Debito notes that “The Japanese authorities have long relied on confessions to take suspects to court, instead...
Syria: Al Hurra Unclean?
Syrian blogger Wassim charges that Al Hurra is an American propaganda channel. “A lecturer of mine invited me to a talk that was being held by Al Hurra in London (a channel I despise) called the ‘Arab Europeans’. I will review it later and also about what I plucked up...
RSF names Maldives police unit Star Force as predator of press freedom
Reporters without Borders (RSF) has listed Star Force, an elite unit of Maldives Police Service, as a predator of press freedom. The listing came weeks after a dead body fished out of water in capital Male’ made the public point their fingers at the police, whose torture techniques could be...
Korea: AIDS and single mothers in Korea and the power of soap operas
AIDS and single mothers are not easy topics in Korean society. Single mothers mean sex before the marriage and are not moral. AIDS is regarded as the result of dangerous and inappropriate sex relations. These prejudices generate social taboos. And a brave Korean soap opera, “Thanks,” has taken on these...
Bolivia: Case of Cristian Urresti Closed
The blogger at Morir Antes Que Esclavos Vivir [ES] is bewildered that the case is closed in the investigation of the murder of Cristian Urresti, the 17-year old Cochabamba resident killed in the civil unrest of January 2007. Even though there are supposed amateur video and eyewitnesses of the death,...
