28 August 2010

Stories from 28 August 2010

Guatemala: Attack Against a Blog?

  28 August 2010

Luis Figueroa reports [es] that blogger Guillermo Pineda wrote on Twitter, “My blog in WordPress.com was hacked. Anyone knows if I can recover it? #Hacked #Wordpress.” Luis wonders if this is an attack; in June Guillermo received threats [es] both in person and through email.

Egypt: Ramadan Television and the Muslim Brotherhood

This year in Ramadan the Egyptian TV decided to produce a series about the opposition party Al-Ikhwan (The Muslim Brotherhood). The TV series, which is called El Gamaa, tries to shed light on the history of group and it's founder Hassan El Banna, bringing criticism from many bloggers that it reflects nothing but the regime's point of view.

South Korea: Extras Went On Strike

  28 August 2010

In South Korea, about one hundred extras from movies and soap operas went on strike, protesting over low pay and verbal abuse in the work place, South Korea's Segye [kr] reported.

Russia: Mari Paganism and Charges of “Extremism”

  28 August 2010

OpenDemocracy.net reports: “In their remote forest republic 400 miles east of the Moscow, the pagan Mari people are once again being harassed by the authorities. […] Ethnically kin to the Finns and Hungarians, their profoundly ecological religious worldview challenges Russian-led designs on their republic’s natural resources.”

Russia: “Jailbird Moms”

RuNet Echo  28 August 2010

A Good Treaty writes about two Russian “jailbird moms” – Anna Shavenkova and Yulia Kruglova: “Two court cases in recent weeks have given Russia’s bruised citizenry a few additional reminders that the world is a cruel, extremely stupid place to live. Both these cases involve mothers of young children, but...

Ukraine: Anthem in 14 Languages

  28 August 2010

Ukraine's national anthem performed in 14 languages (Ukrainian, Greek, Tatar, Gagauz, Polish, Romanian, Georgian, Yiddish, Romani, Russian, Hungarian, Belarusian, Armenian, Azerbaijani) – at Ukrainiana.

Ethiopia/Eritrea: Languages spoken in Ethiopia/Eritrea

  28 August 2010

Learn about languages spoken in Ethiopia and Eritrea:”Amharic is the dominant and official language of Ethiopia.Whereas Eritrea does not have any official languages but English, Italian, Tigrinya, and Arabic are languages which are commonly used in official communication.”

Cameroon: A white person is eating me

  28 August 2010

Christina is an American volunteer in Cameroon. She has met a man who needs her help because,”He tells me that a white person is inside threatening his mother. And then the next day it is that a white person is eating him.”

Togo: Computer Camp in Togo

  28 August 2010

Life of an American volunteer in Togo:”In the beginning of June, we held our computer camp! The boys came the first three days and the girls came the three days after that. Everything actually went really smoothly.”

Russia: West Nile Virus Hits Volgograd Region

RuNet Echo  28 August 2010

LJ user alliruk writes [RUS] that the South of Russia may turn into Africa because of the global warming. After listing recent unusual epidemics outbreaks in the Volgograd region, he mentions the recent West Nile Virus [EN] outbreak that had already killed six people [EN].

Southeast Asia: Durian, the “King of Fruits”

  28 August 2010

Durian is the ‘king of fruits’ in Southeast Asia. It is known for its strong smell and taste which are appreciated and detested at the same time by many people. In this post, bloggers from the region share their ‘durian stories.’