Stories about Arabic from November, 2007
Egypt: Annapolis Joke
Heard the latest Egyptian joke on Annapolis? Zeinobia delivers it here.
Egypt: Activist's Yahoo Account Suspended
Egyptian blogger Wael Abbas, whose YouTube account has recently been suspended, suffers a new blow (Ar) – this time from Yahoo – which has since disabled his Yahoo email account.
Egypt: Seven Years for Murder
Egyptian bloggers this week rejoice over the imprisonment of corrupt police officers, who tortured a carpenter to death. The celebration is all the more special, following the sentencing of men in uniform who tortured Emad Al Kabir. In this post, bloggers remind us that their happiness is short-lived, as abuse is rife and freedom of expression continues to be curtailed.
Egypt: YouTube Disables Activist's Account
A storm is brewing in the Egyptian blogosphere after video hosting site You Tube removed several videos featuring policemen torturing victims from their site. "This is by far the biggest blow to the anti-torture movement in Egypt," writes Wael Abbas, an award winning blogger, whose videos capturing the torture of victims at the hands of police were removed from You Tube. What are the other bloggers saying?
Syria: A Protest Against Censorship
To crown the two months of rapid internet censorship, last week the Syrian government decided to block Facebook (The popular social network site) and Shabablek, a very popular local forum for young people, among other websites. Now, cyberactivists are defying the challenge and demanding their freedom of speech.
Bahrain: Losing its identity?
This week in Bahrain we have opinions on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit, a blogger's dilemma about whether to have a female friend, another getting stuck between his wife-to-be and her family, a call for more Islamic bloggers, and a fear that Bahrain won't stay Bahraini for much longer...
Arabeyes: Halal Pork?
Islam, like Judaism, bans its adherents from consuming pork. But what happens when rumours about 'Halal' or religiously sanctioned pork appear in the market? Here's what some bloggers and participants in an online forum from Bahrain have to say.
Lebanon: Introducing Yamli.com
Lebanese blogger m. introduces us to a new site, developed by Lebanese programmers. Yamli enables you to search the Arabic website, using English fonts.
Bahrain: Ebtihal Salman Under the Spotlight
Bahrain-based blogger Bint Battuta profiles Bahraini blogger Ebtihal Salman in this post and translates some of her posts from Arabic.
Egypt: Those People
The Egyptian blogger Ohod writes here some short stories about people whom he have met in his childhood and how life changed them when they grew up. Tarek Amr translates his post from Arabic.
Syria: Facebook Banned
Syria's netizens have been given another slap on the face with the banning of social networking site Facebook. With Blogger already blocked, the country's bloggers are fuming and have a lot to say about the latest development.
Morocco: Trampling Marakkesh
Marakkesh is regaining its days of glory as the Mecca of tourists. With new mentions in international media, what do Moroccan bloggers have to say about the influx of tourists into their country? Here are the views from two of Morocco's louder bloggers.
Kuwait: Afghani Hashish Oil on Sale
Kuwaiti blogger bo9agr discovered a strange find at the local supermarket – where Afghani Hashish oil is on sale.
Bahrain: Kitting Out An Islamic Car
This week in Bahrain we have a thoughtful post about the nature of God, a story of a sex education class, visitors’ varying experiences of both Bahrain and Spain, and a complaint about public toilets. There is also an intriguing examination of the specifications an Islamic car should have…
Egypt: Shawerma Nostalgia
Do certain tastes and smells linger in your mind long after products, tastes, feel and smells change? This translation from the Egyptian Arabic blogosphere asks just that.
Bahrain: Flaunting your wealth – and accounting for it
What are bloggers talking about in Bahrain this week? Financial accountability, the reasons for blogging, a childhood addiction to books, how to encourage creativity - and looking after appearances.
Egypt: Final Chapter of a Torture Case
After months of waiting and speculation, justice is served at last in an Egyptian saga in which a driver was sodomised and tortured by police - who captured their criminal activities on tape to further humiliate their victim. Eman Abd Al Rahman brings us the latest buzz from the Egyptian blogosphere about the case.
Bahrain: If You're Arab And We Know It…
Bahrain's bloggers are facing hard times this week, with two being denied entry to Kuwait, another subjected to racial profiling in Japan, and a fourth traumatised by a change in Dairy Queen's menu...
Libya: Funny Pictures
Libyan blogger AngloLibyan brings us funny pictures (Ar) from Egypt.
