Stories from 15 December 2009
Poland: Blogs Demand Payment for Content
Readers of leading Polish blogs might have been surprised to see a new welcome screen on one of their favourite websites recently: it announced that, beginning Dec. 14, 2009, access to this blog was no longer free of charge. Jakub Gornicki writes about the case.
Egypt: Synagogue Gone … Synagone
Bloggers and online activists in Egypt are calling for saving an old synagogue, currently used as an office for the National Democratic Party - the country's ruling party. Marwa Rakha sums up reactions in this post.
Syria: At the Second Arab Bloggers Meet
Italian Donatella Della Ratta, who lives in Syria, attended the Second Arab Bloggers meeting, which just ended in Beirut, and here are her observations.
Jordan: Facebook Moments
Posted something too quickly on Facebook? Jordanian Hareega shares some embarrassing moments from the social networking site.
Iraq: Iraqi Prisons and Iraqis
Iraqi Layla Anwar is “overwhelmed with sadness.” Click here to find out why.
Iraq: A Business Perspective
Iraqi Pundit notes: “There are so many different ways to explain Iraq. But whichever explanation makes the most sense, it must include oil.”
Iraq: Smelling Danger
Alaa, The Mesopotamian, from Iraq, smells danger in the air. “Nowadays, I have this premonition of danger. I am compelled to spell out my fears,” he writes.
Iraq: An Iraqi Prayer
Writing at Mideast Youth, Iraqi Wamith Al-Kassab says: “After the last explosions in Baghdad on the 8th of December where two cars exploded in Baghdad and killed more than 127 person with about 330 wounded, I did not find any energy to write … I just posted the story on...
Israel: Blogging for the Environment in Jordan
“Environmentalists and writers from Palestine, Jordan and Israel will meet in Madaba, Jordan this month for a 2-day workshop: “Blogging for the Environment” on December 20-21,” writes Israeli Green Prophet, at Mideast Youth.
Egypt: Majd Al Assad Dies
Egyptian blogger Zeinobia comments on the death of Majd Al Assad, the younger brother of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.
Algerian Jews
Alle, at the Maghreb Politics Review, discusses Algerian Jews from a historical perspective in this post.
Algeria: The Revolution and the Jews
Houwari, at Algerian Review, writes about the Algerian Revolution and the role of the Jewish community.
Egypt: And this one goes to Djamila Bouhired
Algeria's 75-year-old activist and revolutionist Djamila Bouhired is ill and is beseeching her country and countrymen to finance her medical treatment. The news has infuriated many Egyptian bloggers who see her as an Arab icon and a hero.
India: Recipe – chicken noodle soup
For some of us a bowl of hot chicken soup on a cold winter evening is the ultimate comfort food. Meena Agarwal at Hooked on Heat shares her mouth-watering recipe of ‘make-your-own chicken noodle soup’. Loved her idea of allowing guests to personalize their own share of the soup.
India: Let's not confuse social respectability with legality
Countering arguments advanced by an MSM article as to why prostitution in India should not be legalized, Nitin at The Acorn points out that we should not confuse social respectability with legality
Trinidad & Tobago: Baby Face
Of a Danish study which suggests that “baby-faced people live longer”, B.C. Pires says: “Any Trini could have told the world that…it have a reason ogly people does look ogly: because they miserable; and them so bound to die faster than good-looking people who everybody like and want to have...
Montserrat: Level 4
Repeating Islands reports that Montserrat's volcanic activity has been raised to Level 4.
Bangladesh: Independent media and Bangla blogs
Muktangan starts off an interesting freewheeling discussion about the role of Bangla blogs and why it is still not at par with some of the leading blog platforms around the world that have created equity for themselves as independent media.
Cuba, U.S.A.: American Arrested in Havana
The Cuban Triangle comments on press reports that “an American citizen working on a USAID contract was arrested in Cuba” for allegedly “distributing ‘cell phones, laptops, and other communications equipment’.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Twitter's the Thing
“The man came across as feeling he was a celebrity, shouting for the whole stationery store to hear that he was ‘on Facebook and Twitter’. Better yet that the woman didn't know what Twitter was”: From Trinidad, Now Is Wow Too finally gives in to her resistance to the micro-blogging...
Jamaica, St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Police Boots
Jamaican Annie Paul and Abeni from St. Vincent and the Grenadines blog about police brutality in their respective islands.
