Stories from 23 November 2008
Japan: Falling Land Prices
The GLOCOM blog reports that land prices are falling across Japan, even in prime locations such as Otemachi and Ginza (Tokyo). The trend resembles the beginning of country's so-called “lost decade” in the early 1990s.
Iran:”No blog action for Gaza”
Iranian FarsNews, a conservative and semi official site, reports[fa] that Iranian bloggers including Islamist ones, did not cover news about humanitarian crisis in Gaza Strip.
Egypt: Uproar as Lawyer Suggests Raping Israeli Women
Voice of Egypt is ashamed of Egyptian Lawyer Nagla Al Imam, the same lawyer who made Egyptians angry, for encouraging Arab men to sexually harass Israeli women during her interview on Al Arabia TV (Ar). Marwa Rakha translates from Arabic.
Egypt: The InterFaith Conference and Arab Israeli Relations
Saudi Arabia's King Abdulla sat in the same room with Israeli political leaders for the first time ever, during the UN Interfaith conference, held in New York, US. How will this impact the Arab Israeli peace process?
Saudi Arabia: Showing true support
Nzhinga has been trying to persuade her young son that he should study and not rely on becoming a famous soccer star; after all, he might get injured and not be able to play. But her son has a solution. Jihad: “I know what I'll do! My wife will have...
Saudi Arabia: Dreaming of change
Hala, a Saudi blogger currently in the US, was invited to give a talk about the kingdom: “I wanted to say that we are moving in the right direction, faith practices are not forced on people, women are treated equally to men, we have money and we use it correctly...
Palestine: No point in blogging?
Heba, a blogger in Gaza, has decided to call it a day: “Since I do realize that writing about the situation is not actually contributing to changing any of it at the decision making level, I decided -in my blog second birthday- to end this beautiful fulfilling experience.”
Jordan: List of controversial figures
From Lebanese singer Haifaa Wahbi to Libyan president Moammar Qaddafi to Hizbulla commander Hasan Nasrallah to Egyptian leader Jamal Abdil Nasser, Jordanian Hareega shares his list of the 10 most controversial figures in the Arab world.
Egypt: Shaaban Sings for Obama
Shaaban Abdel Rehim, the illiterate Egyptian singer whose songs are mainly about political and social issues, has released a new song about the new American President-Elect Barack Obama. Tarek Amr looks at the blogosphere's reactions to Abdel Rehim's newest hit.
Egypt: Noodles Cultural Invasion
Bluelue wrote a good post here about Noodles and how the Far Eastern culture is spreading all over the world.
Venezuela: Following the Local Elections Online
Today Venezuela is taking part in elections for mayors and governors., which will paint the political map between States and Municipalities aligned with President Hugo Chávez or not. Venezuelan bloggers and twitter users are covering the election with the tag #23N and a campaign was launched to encourage people to vote and discuss the elections among their friends and family.
Georgia: Junior Eurovision Success
Unzipped comments on this year's junior Eurovision international music competition and says that Georgia's win was well deserved. The blog notes that Russia gave full points to the country it was recently at war with, but also expresses disappointment with Armenia's entry.
Madagascar: South Korean Land Deal Sparks Controversy
South Korea has just leased half of all the arable land in Madagascar according to the Financial Times. This has stirred quite a debate in the Malagasy blogosphere about land sovereignty and economic development. It is still unclear whether the land deal has actually been signed by both parties. Meanwhile, bloggers are arguing whether this sort of deal should be considered “neo-colonialism”.
Armenia/Azerbaijan: Journalists Under Attack
Beaten in Armenia and imprisoned in Azerbaijan, journalists in the ex-Soviet South Caucasus know the price of freedom. Some of them are even fighting from prison cells, wrestling state persecution and challenging societal intolerance for dissent. Bloggers tell the story of free speech in the South Caucasus.
Japan: Proud to be Okinawan
Superyuko at Nachikasanu Koiuta describes the first time she became aware of her Okinawan identity. 10 years ago, in Tokyo, where she came to live and to attend university, she was asked: “Are you Japanese? Because you don't look very Japanese”, and innocently answered: “I think I am Japanese”. She...
China: Deadly subway tunnel collapse – who to blame?
On 15, Nov, a 100-meters-long--50m-wide section of the subway tunnel under construction collapsed. The most serious subway accident ever in China claimed more than 21. But far more than that, the accident might imply more incoming tragedies, since the danger is not simply lurking in tunnels, steel rods, or under roadbeds, but deeply in our system.
Japan: Suginami Ward proposes removal of Street View images
Following on a request by the Machida city council for regulation of Google's Street View service, recently introduced in Japan, Asiajin reports that the ward of Suginami in central Tokyo has advised its residents on how to submit [ja] takedown requests to Google. An article at Asahi reports that Suginami...
