Stories from 18 July 2009
Bahrain: Learn To Live With Israel?
The Bahraini Nationalist is pleased that Bahrain's Crown Prince has written an op-ed in the Washington Post asking Arabs to talk to the people of Israel: “Shaikh Salman is trying to tell Arabs that Israel is a reality and won’t disappear. Learn to live with it!!” Yet a Facebook group...
Russia: Extremism law going to extremities
Sean's Russia Blog reports how the Russian law against extremism is increasingly liberally interpreted, now to include the registration of youth subcultures, in parallel to the registration of ideologically harmful culture during soviet times.
Palestine: Fear Of Flying
At the Moments of Gaza blog, Professor Abdelwahed writes about a couple taking their children out of Gaza for the first time in 13 years, and discovering that they were terrified to fly: “Their persistent question was on their situation if the airplane bombed somewhere and killed innocent people like...
Russia: Shalamov's Siberia
Russian Blog does a follow up on the Russian writer and Gulag prisoner Varlam Shalamov, visiting sites of his incarceration in the Ural and posting pictures to illustrate the story
Russia: Americanophobia or Americanophilia?
In the midst of the Russophobia-Russophilia debate, LJ user drugoi raises the issue [RUS] of whether Russians are Americanophobes or Americanophiles.
Bangladesh: Practice of child labour
Monjuraul at Muktangan discusses[bn] the condition of child labourers in Bangladesh.
India: Family dynamics and domestic violence
Mandy Van Deven's post in The WIP analyses family dynamics and its impact on domestic violence in the context of Deepa Mehta's film ‘Heaven on Earth’.
Africa: New date for African Bloggers’ Conference
The new date for Kelele 2009 (first conference for African bloggers) has been announced: “We are now pleased to announce that the inaugural Kelele, Bloggers Conference will take place in Nairobi from 29th October– 1st November, 2009.”
Africa: Challenges for African language study in America
A podcast from African Online Digital Library about challenges and possibilities for African language study in America.
Russia: Which way with the WTO?
Amanda Lahan at Crisis Crunch discusses Russia's ambivalence on whether to become a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) or not.
Latvia: Limiting civil liberties
Free Speech Emergency in Latvia argues that a new government proposal to expand security police powers would increasingly limit the scope of civil liberties in Latvia.
Ukraine: Running out of time to dissolve parliament
Ukraine Today draws attention to the coming week being the last when president Yushchenko can constitutionally dissolve parliament before the 2010 presidential elections.
Brazil: Amnesty for illegal immigrants sparks hope and controversy
A new amnesty for illegal immigrants has just become law in Brazil, benefiting between 50,000 and 200,000 people. The hope is that the amnesty will bring at least better working conditions for those currently being exploited in sweatshops that cash in on illegal immigrants, and eventually compassion for Brazilians living illegally abroad.
Jerusalem: Discovering The Old City
Glenn Strachan has been working temporarily in Nazareth, and is now visiting Jerusalem for the first time: “What I quickly discovered is that Nazareth is to Jerusalem what hamburger is to filet mignon.”
Israel: Does Violence Pay?
Israeli activist Joseph Dana compares the way the Israeli state treats ultra-orthodox rioters with its treatment of anti-occupation protestors: “The ultra orthodox have succeeded in exerting force against the state – one could say that violence in this situation has proven successful – while non-violent leftist Israelis are often attacked...
Morocco: First Femal Mayor Loses her Seat
The View from Fez reports on how 33-year-old Fatima Zahra Mansouri lost her council seat as the first female mayor of the city of Marrakesh, after a controversial administrative court ruling disallowed the vote on the basis of alleged irregularities. “Mansouri's Party for Authenticity and Modernity (PAM), which swept the...
Azerbaijan: Overzealous minions?
Following the recent detention of online activists and bloggers Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli in Azerbaijan, Business Week and former New York Times journalist Steve LeVine comments on the case on The Oil and the Glory, wondering if the arrest wasn't simply a case of an overzealous police official trying...
Kyrgyzstan Sets Up the Anti-terrorist Centre
15, July, the President of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiev gave interview to the American New York Times. During the interview, he told [ru] that Kyrgyzstan was going to set up the anti-terrorist centre at the south region of Kyrgyzstan. The representatives of the Kyrgyz and the Russian Ministries of Defence are...
Afghanistan: List of Afghan Presidential candidates
Nick Fielding continues to keep an eye on presidential campaign in Afghanistan, and sought a list of 41 candidates from the electoral commission, which he now publishes.
Afghanistan: Dostum denies massacre
Nick Fielding reports that General Abdul Rashid Dostum, who is believed to be a war criminal, but is about to getting rehabilitation in Afghanistan, gave a recorded statement to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, in which he denied that any Taliban or al-Qaeda prisoners were abused in November 2001 by troops...
Kazakhstan: Astana dominates Tour de France
Dina writes that Kazakh cycling team Astana is back on stage after a series of financial problems and it is showing a solid performance in the French Grand Tour.
