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Bali bombings: Bloggers respond

Rebecca MacKinnon · 23:22

Bali Blog has an eyewitness account from a man named Nick who was not far from the blast.

Javajive (written by an American living in Java) says Indonesian TV has been playing the amateur pre-blast restaurant video over and over again:

The T.V. stations have put together one of their famous tragedy tapes - scenes from the bombing, bodies on the floor, views of the victims in the hospital, etc. All while playing “Everybody Hurts” by R.E.M.

Jakartass describes how local bloggers and professional media worked together to cover the story.

iZ Reloaded points to an Australian media story about how some Australian rugby players were warned in advance about the bombings by an Indonesian friend in the Bali Mafia.

MacamMacam has photos and updates, and also points to a sad post by the Saudi blogger Religious Policeman:

It's very difficult being a moderate Muslim these days. The vast majority of Muslims are moderate, wouldn't hurt a fly, want to do nothing more than live in peace, earn a living, bring up their families. Yet they constantly have to apologize for their religion because the whole Islamic PR effort is being driven by the crazies.

I used to feel sorry for the Christians in Northern Ireland, because they had terrorists killing in their name. But that's all over. And the chilling fact is that these days, wherever there is any trouble in the world, Muslims are tied up in it. From Algeria in the west to the Philippines in east, from Chechnya in the north to Darfur in the south, not forgetting Palestine in the middle, wherever there's trouble in the world, there are Muslims involved. …

…There are times when I really despair of what these disciples of the Devil, and the complicit silence of those who could show some moral leadership, are doing to my religion.

On A Whim, a young Muslim woman, makes an appeal against violence.

Singapore's Seksi Matashutyrmouf analyzes the “professionalism” of suicide bombers.

Used Brains for Sale, based in Singapore, decries the killing of innocent people but connects the Bali bombings to events in Iraq and Bush administration policies.

Mack at BrandMalaysia declares a day of silence for the victims.

With 4000 Australians in Bali, Tim Blair has the Australian perspective.

At Pickled Politics, Rohin believes Bali will continue to be a target.

Singaporeclassics examines the motivations and people behind the group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), who are believed to be responsible for the attacks.

Ringisei points to expert conclusions that Singapore is an inevitable target: “The experts’ concensus is that an attack on Sg is not a question of if but when.” Due to “lack of human intelligence on the part of our security services.”

The Counterterrorism Blog has more analysis.

Wikipedia has a rapidly expanding page collecting links, timelines and other information about the blasts.

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Blog Buzz from South Asia

Kamla Bhatt · 20:59

South Asian bloggers were busy this week writing on technology, fashion, economy and films.

Given the rise in fuel prices, Metroblogging from Pakistan wonders when they will get rickshaws like this in their country. And Unheard Voices from Bangaldesh says that the country ranked 4th in democracy in a recent survey . If you have often wondered what the fashion scene in Nepal is like these days, read about it here.

Bloggers in India were busy writing about economy, politics and their favorite form of entertainment: films. Rural India is the new market in India. Govindaraj Ethiraj has nicely summed up on what happens when companies decided to move their IT jobs from urban to rural areas.

And here is something about whether development can take place at a low cost. Prof Sadagopan looks at how airlines are targeting the second-tier cities in India.

Chutney Spears says that the Left Parties in India cannot walk straight. India's choice for 2006 Oscars has created quite a bit of blogging news. Lazygeek has this to say about Paheli and GreatBong’s take on how the movie must have been selected by the panel.

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From the Jordanian Blogosphere

Roba Al Assi · 09:51

The hottest topic this week on the Jordanian blogosphere is regarding the lack of political blogs on portal Jordan Planet. Firas of IHeartAmman claims that “You know something is wrong when bloggers are neglecting local political issues“. Natasha Tynes reciprocates saying “I believe the main reason is the fact that when growing up, we were never encouraged to speak up and express our opinions.” Lina Ejeilat, on the other hand, says that “we learnt that there isn’t much we can do to change it… so why bother?” while Roba Assi believes that the fact that there were “no real Arabic blogging softwares online greatly contributed to the social segmentation of Jordan bloggers.” She then points out to the first Arabic blogging service provided by Al-Bawaba and Ammar Ibrahim invites everyone to test drive it.

Nasim Tarawneh is wondering if Jordan Planet is becoming overpopulated and Firas of IHeartAmman proposes a starting an article about Jordan Planet on Wikipedia. In the meantime, Jad Madi is fascinated by the power of blogging as he relates the reaction to a post he wrote earlier, and Khalaf of “What's Up, Jordan?” has an interesting post on freedom of speech in Jordan. Haitham Sabbah posts about an attack on Jordanian daily newspaper Al-Anbat then says that this is worrying and hopes that ” we are not facing a new form of individual or organized suppression of freedom of expression and media freedom in Jordan. Khalaf also writes about the upcoming 10 year National Agenda and describes that there is “apathy even before the first vote is cast”.

Ahmad Humeid ponders about whether Email is dead. Shaden of Sugar Cubes and Haitham Sabbah are meanwhile upset with what they describe as the low level of moral that some Arab artists are performing and promoting.

On a more physical front, Wael Attili has a sad image and says that he could not think of a comment about it, and Roba Assi expresses her frustration at the street naming situation in Amman. Naseem Tarawneh ponders the cost of the holy month of Ramadan and describes it as a sign of massive hypocrisy, he also reports that “Jordan has overtaken Palestine as the most competitive Arab cellular market.”

Streets of Amman taken by Sabri Hakim

As for upcoming local events, Ahmad Humeid of 360 East draws attention to Linotype's Arabic Type Design Contest, Ammar Ibrahim mentions that rocker Akram Baker from Ramallah is performing in Amman on the 3rd, and the monthly Jordan Planet blogger meet-up for October will be held on the 2nd. Firas of IHeartAmman mentions that the “Great Amman Municipality has announced that by mid 2006, they will distribute about 4000 recycling containers all over greater Amman.”

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