Archive for
March 2nd, 2006


Stories

Pulse of the Saudi Blogosphere 

a small portrait of this author Ahmed Al-Omran · 16:23

Different topics were under the spotlight in the Saudi blogosphere during the past week; including terrorist attacks, crash of the stock market, and nationalism. So, let's get started with our roundup for this week…

Writing about the latest terrorist attack on oil refineries in Abqaiq, east of the country, Abu-Joori says he wishes that this failed attack would be the last alarm to some Saudis who kept on making apologies for the terrorists (Arabic). “We were the ones who exported this destructive ideologies, and now they are coming back to us in the ugliest form,” he added. Meanwhile, Maha was worried because the two terrorists killed were too young. “What made them do this? I was expecting older people, but now that I know they are young and my age, I started to feel sorry for them. They just wasted their lives and was it for a good cause?” she asked.

The changes in the Saudi society were the subject of a thoughtful post by Prometheus. He thinks that liberals “have been fighting gallantly for what they believe, repulsing fierce attacks of the self-proclaimed guardians of Islam who are trying hard to tame all others into their deviated teachings,” and that they should come forward and make their voices heard in order to spread the “noble ideals of tolerance, peace and coexistence.”
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Landing at the Iraqi Blogodrome 

a small portrait of this author Salam Adil · 10:26

Given the recent events in Iraq, it may come as some surprise to find the variety of subjects in Iraqi blogs this week. There is sadness and tears and humour even when the worst happens. Read on for a selection.

First let me welcome a new blogger to the scene. Hala s. who used to guest blog at Asterism is now Madly in love with Iraq:

I thought to myself why am I going to this place? I feel so down and this meeting will only agitate and distress me more. I am not mentally prepared for it today. A diversity of Iraqis put together, almost always we end up agreeing to disagree, if we are lucky, or a fight erupts causing embarrassment to the host.

Compelling stuff.

Word from the Street:

While the media may be full of stories speculating on the likelyhood of ongoing civil war the Iraqi bloggers are generally reporting that things are returning back to normal. However this is not the general definition of ‘normal' that I would use…

“with the exception of the local mosque being fired upon, and a corpse found at dawn three streets down, things have been relatively quiet.” says Riverbend.

Iraq the Model describes the organised way in which the demonstrations were started:

the protests were not spontaneous like clerics want us to think; in fact the only spontaneous protest was the one in Samarra itself!
I live here and I've seen the whole thing. The demonstrations in Baghdad began after the fatwa and I saw how shop keepers unwillingly closed their shops when the men in black with their arms and loudspeakers ordered them to do so “in the name of the Hawza” and I saw the sad look on the faces of people abandoning their only source of income for a time that could go indefinitely.

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Pakistan: Blogspot Blogs blocked in Pakistan 

a small portrait of this author Neha Viswanathan · 07:19

Over the last two days, blogspot blogs (running on Blogger) seem to be blocked in Pakistan. More bloggers are confirming this as it appears to have been blocked by all ISPs in Pakistan. Shirazi has some ways to bypass the ISPs banning access to Blogspot. Pakistani Abysmal Ramblings writes

It is a Sad day in Pakistan as our esteemed leaders have decided to further infringe on our rights to freedom. It has come to my attention that all ISPs in Pakistan are blocking all blogger blogsites. Previously some sites deemed inapropraite were blocked, but this is utter nonsense, why do a blanket blocking of blogger, are you so scared of people power that you feel a blogsite can be so harmful to you and your power.

KO is hosting a discussion on one of the forums. Metroblogging Lahore has links to some proxy sites that allow access and states that one of the ISPs still allows access to Blogspot. It is unclear why Blogspot Blogs have been singled out or blocked. A large number of Pakistani bloggers blog on Blogspot blogs. It's a possibility that the recent Danish cartoons controversy may have contributed to this decision by the Pakistan Government. However, the Pakistani Government doesn't seem to have made any official announcement on this issue as there is no Mainstream Media report on this.

Meanwhile some of the ways you can access blogspot blogs if you are in Pakistan are to go to this site which allows direct access to blogger even if your ISP blocks it, or use an open proxy like this. Access to Blogger even if your ISP blocks it through this link (http://www.blogger.com.nyud.net:8090) works because of the Coral Content Distribution Network.

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Views from the Horn of Africa and Sudan 

a small portrait of this author Chippla Vandu · 05:51

The Ethiopian blogosphere has been awash with discussions spanning a variety of topics. Politically focused Ethiopian blogs such as Ethiopundit and Ethiopian Paradox continue in their tradition of providing thought provoking pieces on the current state of the Ethiopian nation and those who govern it. Ethiopian Paradox presents a write-up by Sereke Berhan in which he(she) lashes out on Western governments for their supposed “silence” over the high-handedness of the Ethiopian government. It states:

“…Westerners have shown their willingness to sacrifice innocent lives for their own benefit. It is hard to imagine that they would do such a thing realizing the magnitude of their action. This clearly shows how much they care and what our [Ethiopian] lives, future and dignity mean to them.”

Ethiopundit in an article entitled “Falling off the Climate Curve“, writes about a much talked about topic–global warming. Noting that climate change has been well documented in the past (even before the industrial revolution), this blog appears skeptical of the extent to which humans really understand global warming. It notes that it makes sense to

“take care of the planet…but be wary of all hyper-certainty on this subject [climate change]…from those who would define morality and human ‘goodness’ by the degree to which one accepts the teachings of one school of environmentalism or another. It is hard to imagine that as the economies of India or China approach a level of polluting familiar to the First World that greenhouse gas levels will not rise far faster than ever before.”

The blog Addis Ababa Rocking Fun Zone tells about trying out the 2006 Fast of Solidarity, most likely a Christian Orthodox fast. The author of the blog tells about also wanting to try out the Muslim fast when next the month of Ramadan is here. The blog Aqumada posts on series of interesting topics that relate to Ethiopia and Africa. It calls the re-election of Yoweri Museveni of Uganda a “replay of last year’s Ethiopian election.” Aqumada also presents a venereal disease lexicon in Ethiopian Amharic scripts.

Ethiopians appear to be boycotting beverages affiliated with their government according to the blog Things We Should Have Written Down. Read about the Pepsi Cola—Coca Cola ‘war’ in Ethiopia in the post “Waiter, there’s a Pepsi in my Coke!”

Sleepless in Sudan, a blog by a 31-year-old female aid worker in Darfur, is now closed. In its parting post of February 1, 2006, which attracted 89 comments as at the time of writing, it states:

“Sorry, but this blog is now closed. It's somewhat bittersweet to write those words after having ranted and raved, moaned and marvelled, and generally obsessed about Darfur for so long.”

Inside Somaliland tells of the African Union supporting the split of Somalia. Somaliland, a self-declared independent nation, has been waging a campaign to be recognized by the wider world. For now, it is being viewed as part of Somalia.

Food Crisis in Somalia provides regular updates about the current drought and food shortages being faced in Somalia. Up to 2 million people face severe starvation in Somalia. Food Crisis in Somalia appears somewhat pleased with the work being done by the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC) and not that by what it calls the “bureaucratic and highly disorganized United Nations (UN) agencies.”

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Rants from Nigerian Bloggers 

This author has no photo Imnakoya · 05:45

Africa is continent and not a country. Right? Not everyone knows that, even those that should know often failed to use the “right lingo” when making references to Africa.

Nneka rants on her blog Confessions of the Mind: “I am really tired of having my continent generalized and also having Nigerian folks here telling me that: “When I go back to Africa”. “Yeah I know Africa”, she writes, “but can you please be specific. You don’t get non-Africans going “when I go back to Europe or something like that. Or say they speak “European”… “In the continent of Africa …Africans come in different complexions ranging from dark-hued to really light-hued.”

“No I don’t live in a tree when I go back to my country Nigeria which is in West Africa…we have malls, supermarkets, cars, roads, buildings. Yes we were thought English, from school, at home, everywhere… 99% of Africans are multilingual, meaning we can speak 2 or more languages. No, not all Africans have flies circling our bellies and mouths. Yes we value our culture, very much, especially when we happen to find ourselves living in the western world.”

Nkem states “International borders are a scourge on the modern world. Just like war, what are borders good for? Absolutely nothing. In the unlikely event that I become Prime Minister of the World, I would get rid of all borders and allow people to roam as freely as the wind carries them.”

“Some see this as a recipe for disaster, but fear not brethren, there's a method to the madness. I've thought about this concept for a long time..” Nkem states. Read more about her desire on her blog: African Shirts .

Yoruba is a language spoken bythe Yoruba tribe found primarily in the south-western corner of Nigeria.

“There are many things I love about the language Yoruba writes Dotun the author of the blog Brosdee’s View.

“A sensible speech is not complete without the infusion of proverbs and analogies… I was born in a land where you are defined by your family history. Your resume is an accumulation of the deeds (sometimes wrongdoings) of your ancestor. People can deduce almost 20% of who you are (or supposed to be) from your name, “ile la n wo kato somoloruko” (visit the blog for the meaning of the phrase) . Hence you live your life not only for yourself but for the generations after you. When my aunty warned me to remember the son whom I am, she is encoding a sermon in history, character and family ethics in the statement.”

David blogging at Just Thots by a Naija Man muses about the just concluded constitutional review in Nigeria and the third term agenda of President Obasanjo.

“It is sad that virtually all (s)elected political office holders who swore to uphold the constitution on whose back they rode into power are now attempting to shift the goalposts at the last minute in order to entrench themselves in power. The popular swansong among most is that “continuity” is necessary to “sustain” the country's democracy. It would be appropriate to ask them how great nations such as the USA have been able to sustain over 200yr old democracies with some presidents staying less than 4 yrs in power. Surely our democracy must be a very different one!”

The music and social blog: Soul on Ice, authored by Obi (of-South-London), has this message for diamond-crusted rappers:

“…Rappers have to take responsibility for their actions. The yoke around your neck may just be destroying the lives of people elsewhere. It's not beyond the rappers to demand info on where the diamonds came from and obtain certificates of authentication. But why floss on diamonds anyway?”

His remarks is made in reference to the Sierra Leone’s diamonds, which have been tagged “Blood diamonds” because the revenue accrued from their sales is used to perpetrate the civil war in the country.

He also recommends reading/listening to a documentary made by Rodney P’s , a “heavyweight UK emcee and dj of Original Fever on BBC 1Xtra”, on his travels to Sierra Leone.

“So this is how I came into the world”, writes the blogger at Reality. He states: “Instantaneously, I felt guilty. The feeling of guilt was not because I saw a woman give birth. But because, I have caused my mama alot pain and embarrassment in the past. In my estimation, all women deserve the utmost respect from their children. And I say mama, I am sorry!“

He describes his experience on his blog, here is an extract:

“I have never seen a woman in the process of giving birth before. But I have seen one or two pregnant women in sporadic pain… in readiness to give birth. Yesterday however, I learnt something new. I watched a woman being delivered. It was not the most pleasant sight to behold though. But, it is something I feel all matured men should see.

This woman, I was made to understand had been in labour for two hours. Her man was by her side. And you could see anguish written all over him. I felt her pain too as I watched. Each time she screams, her husband flinches and I winced involuntarily where I was seated. Eventually, the tiny creature was shot out into the world after about four and half hour of torment. It shrilled with a wail… My attention went back to the woman. The look on her face was that of depletion. And then I focused on the tiny creature again…the cause of the pain and anguish of both mother and father…”

Finally, Emeka Okafor writes about Africa's largest retailer, Shoprite Holdings and its operations in Nigeria, via Timbuktu Chronicles :

“…[The company] actively empowers small local suppliers in virtually all the countries in which it does business in Africa for the delivery of a range of items, mainly fresh produce and perishable products. Most of these suppliers initially need assistance to meet the Group's requirements in terms of volumes and product specifications. To bring them to the required standard, the Group operates extensive support and development programmes aimed at assisting them to achieve the required standards and produce to our needs…”

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