Latest posts by Jillian C. York from April, 2009
Morocco: Praising Al Jazeera
Cinema and Movies praises Al Jazeera for its excellent documentary on Ahmed el Marzouki, a former prisoner in Tazmamart, and the author of the memoir Tazmamart: Cellule 10.
UAE: Torture video sends shock waves around the world
Last week, a grainy video from 2005 made headlines, shaking up viewers around the globe. The video, first shown on U.S.-based ABC News, showed Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan - brother of UAE's crown prince torturing an Afghan grain farmer, attacking him with a cattle prod then literally pouring salt on his wounds. Jillian C. York brings us reports from the blogosphere.
Morocco: On “Jewish Morocco”
Morocco has a long relationship with Judaism; during the spread of the Roman empire, a number of Jews settled in what is modern-day Morocco. Over time, relations between Morocco's majority Muslim population and its small Jewish population have ranged from very good to heavily strained. Following the creation of the state of Israel, the vast majority of Morocco's Jews emigrated (approximately 15% of Israeli Jews are in fact of Moroccan descent), however, approximately 7,000 Jews reside in Morocco today. Moroccans are often quick to point out that the king's top adviser, André Azoulay, is Jewish.
Morocco: Transport Strikes Leaves Morocco Crippled
Over the past week, a taxi strike across Morocco has left the country nearly immobile. Although Morocco has a decent train system and network of buses, many Moroccans - particularly in rural areas - rely on grande taxis to get from town to town, or to larger towns where they can then catch a bus. Peace Corps volunteers, who make up a large segment of English language blogs from Morocco, were particularly affected, as many of them live in towns that are not accessible by bus.
Global: Hijablogging Fashionistas
In March, we caught up with a new crew of “hijabloggers” - women who wear the hijab and blog about it. Such bloggers span the globe, blogging about a wide variety of issues from parenting to fashion to travel to politics. In this post, we will re-visit the “hijablogosphere” to see what's new.
Algeria: Bouteflika Takes On Third Term
On Friday, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was elected for a third term in office, extending his already ten-year tenure. Along with former Prime Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem, Bouteflika changed the constitution to remove the presidential term limit, a revision that was approved by the Council of Ministers in November 2008. According...
Western Sahara: Landmine Injures Five During Peaceful Protest
Last week, Saharawis and Spaniards stood together in solidarity against the berm (”Wall of Shame”) built between Morocco and the Western Sahara, over which Morocco claims sovereignty. The protest, dubbed the International March against the Wall of Shame, resulted in an unconfirmed number of Saharawis injured by landmines. Jillian York shares the story.
Palestine: Allowed No Passage
The saga of journalist and blogger Laila El-Haddad, who writes at Raising Yousuf and Noor: diary of a Palestinian mother, was covered in detail by Global Voices last week. However, as El-Haddad moved into her 36th hour at the airport and her tweeting and blogging ceased, fans, friends, and readers became concerned. Jillian York picks up from where we left off, and bring us up-to-date with El-Haddad's story, in her own words.
Morocco: Crossed Loyalties
Ibn Kafka remarks [fr] on the fact that, despite long-term disagreements between the two nations, the monarch of Morocco sent a congratulatory telegram to re-elected Algerian president Bouteflika.
Morocco: Discovering Jewish Morocco
Jewish Morocco is a blog in which a traveler to Morocco is tracking his experiences with Jewish sites and Morocco's few Jewish people. The blogger recently traveled to the east of the country for Passover.
Morocco: A New Green Party
The View From Fez announces that a new green party, called the Environment and Sustainable Development Party (Le Parti de l'Environnement et du Développement Durable), has been formed recently in Morocco.
Morocco: A Different World
Peace Corps volunteer Duncan of Duncan Goes to Morocco shares his experiences in the big city of Fez and contrasts it with his life in rural Morocco.
Morocco: Secret Son
A Moroccan About the World Around Him praises fellow Moroccan blogger Laila Lalami‘s first book, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, and encourages readers to seek out her latest, Secret Son.
USA: Do Mormons Want Internet Filtering?
News For the Mormon Legal Community posts a discussion on the Mormon church's position (or lack thereof) on Internet filtering.
