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A small sampling of the best of what the food world has to offer

This has been a pretty busy week. No complaints at all, I sometimes just feel like I have been in this planet for a short time, other times I am just sugar high. I know, this may sound weird, but anyhow…let's go over some of the best and most interesting posts in the food blogosphere!

#1: From Australia and New Zealand

In My Kitchen tells the tales about how the first three month of living in Australia have been. How about the unusual "dragon fruit?" Have you ever heard of such a thing? A prickly pear maybe? Head over to her site to learn about the most adventurous adventures in the South Pacific.

#2: From Panama and Canada

Chef Elena writes about "Raza: un restaurante Latino en Montreal." A very interesting review of Raza, a restaurant in Montreal that bears an enviable Latin flair. It seems to me that they have lost somehow their compass rose. How could one of the best exponents of the Latin American cuisine, experimental and beautiful, be located in a non-Latin country? Puzzling.

#3: From Congo

Elia, a Spaniard living abroad, writes about the "mangosteen," a fruit that has captivated her attention. Originally from Indonesia and Malaysia, but apparently it is available all over the Congo.

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Nepal: Moriarty Drowns Out Prachanda

Paramendra · 14:18

The Nepali blogosphere the past two weeks has given a lot of space to US ambassador Moriarty who gave an important speech warning the political parties to watch out for the Maoists. He also wrote an article to the same effect in the Asian Wall Street Journal. Only days before the Maoist supremo Prachanda had given out three major interviews, one to the leading Nepali daily, another to a leading Indian daily, and a third to BBC. That created much news. But Moriarty came right after and drowned Prachanda out.

Democracy For Nepal (DFN) claims the ambassador and the parties are talking past each other: Moriarty In The Soup, Baburam Moriarty Debate, India, Europe, US For A Constituent Assembly, Moriarty Deserves Your Ears. DFN also has close to 40 minutes of video clips from the talk program in New York City where the leading Nepali journalist Kanak Mani Dixit and the ICG point person Rhoderick Chalmers spoke.

United We Blog (UWB) has some graphic coverage of the recent aerial attacks by the Royal Nepalese Army. Innocent villagers end up bearing the brunt of such senseless attacks: Aerial Assault: Survivors’ Images, Bomb Effects: Palpa, Bhairahawa, Images From Kavre Clash.

Mero Sansar continues to take the lead on video blogging the movement.

Samudaya has an interesting piece on the reconstruction in the post conflict situation. It is optimistic.

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Pakistan: Blog-o-block

Omer Alvie · 13:45

I am sure the readers of Global Voices are, by now, well aware of the recent move by ISPs in Pakistan to block blogspot.com sites. The rationale behind this ban cannot be logically justified. The reason given is that due to pressure from (political) groups within Pakistan, the government has in turn (through Pakistan Telecommunications Authority) has pressured ISPs to block sites that displayed the controversial caricatures of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). What has resulted as a consequence of the ISP move is the blocking of all blogspot.com web logs, which cannot be viewed within Pakistan. What the ISPs, the government and those who initiated this cartoon protest web site ban, fail to realize is that they also blocked all those web logs on blogspot.com that actually protested against the printing of these controversial cartoons.

I am very happy to report that it was Global Voices that brought the requisite attention to many readers before the mainstream media even picked up on the story.

Personally, I protested this blogspot.com ban the only way I thought logical, which was to start the DON’T BLOCK THE BLOG campaign with an old blogger friend, Awab Alvi.

As an update to what is being written on blogs regarding this issue, please review a small sample of links presented below:.

Teeth Maestro announces the launch of our campaign; Procrastination also details the blogspot issue; Danial suggests actions to protest the ban; Ovais Khan presents some ways around the ban; and finally, Windmills also writes a furious response to this blogspot.com ban in Pakistan.

I encourage all the readers to support our campaign or any other online free speech campaign. This is a very important issue. And I thank all of you who have supported our campaign and/or protested this blogspot.com blockade.

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The Week That Was - Bolivian Blogs

Eduardo Avila · 11:09

Este artículo también está disponible en español.

This photo of a Carnaval dancer receiving assistance in putting on his outfit was taken by Marcelo Montecino. See his other in this series of photos from the 1994 Carnaval in Oruro at his Flickr page. The photo was used by permission from the photographer.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent in Bolivia, where a large majority of the population is Roman Catholic. The Carnaval season has officially ended and many in the Bolivian blogosphere recall these days with such fond nostalgia. Bolivians and foreigners alike participate fully either in Bolivia or away from home.

The last time Alexey took part in Carnaval in his hometown of Oruro was four years ago. Now living abroad in the Netherlands, he comments in his blog Alexey Writes, that for some reason he thought he would miss the festivities more than he has and that it might be because he knows that it is not so easy to travel back to Bolivia. He does, however, state that the Carnaval in Oruro is the “only one worth participating in, even if people from Oruro often feel like it is.” He recently returned from a short trip to Slovenia, during their carnival season.

Isabella Fuente also found herself far from the fun, as she describes in her blog Ergoth. Living in Madrid, she assembled her own Carnaval complete with streamers, but found that there was no festive atmosphere in Spain. So instead she went to the movies and watched the live footage from Oruro from her bedroom.

Oruro may be the most well-known part of Bolivia where Carnaval is celebrated, however, nearly every corner of the country celebrates in its own unique and distinct way. Rolando from Rocko Weblog runs down how Bolivians in Santa Cruz, Tarija and La Paz spend these days. He also describes the ritual of “martes de ch’alla”, which takes place on the Tuesday of the holiday where people thank “la Pachamama” (mother earth) for the days to come.

No celebration is complete without food and drink. Miguel Esquirol makes readers’ mouths water with a full description complete with picture of the traditional dish called “Puchero de Carnaval” in his blog El Forastero. This dish from Cochabamba is served specifically on the day “martes de ch’alla” featuring beef, lamb, potatoes, rice, chuño (dehydrated potatoes), and ají (spicy condiments).

Jim Shultz, who lives in Cochabamba, describes running into some neighbors celebrating with alcohol drink chicha, which is made from fermented corn, and learning the customs which accompany it. He does, however, know how to play the game in order to escape a certain fate.

Thankfully there is an escape clause. Before you finish you are supposed to dump some on the ground for La Pachamama, mother earth. It is a tradition that has saved my ass more than once when a Bolivian party turns it attention to the noble game, “Make that gringo drink!”

Finally, Nick Buxton writes his ode to Carnaval in his blog Open Veins.

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Angola Carnaval 2006

Sokari Ekine · 06:03

AngolaCarnaval angola carnval

angola carnval angola carnaval

angola carnaval AngolaCarnaval

AngolaCarnaval

Photos by “Tonspi” - José Silva Pinto

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The Lebanese Bloggers On the National Dialogue: Cynicism, skepticism, and a ray of hope

Mustapha · 03:37

The most important event in Lebanon this week was the long-awaited “National Dialogue” taking place between various Lebanese group leaders. The meeting is important because the country was becoming dangerously divided.
On one side, an alliance largely between the Sunnis, Christians and Druze, is vehemently opposed to Syrian influence and is campaigning to oust the Syrian-backed President Emile Lahhoud. On the other, the predominantly Shiite camp is hostile to the United States and has friendlier views of Syria and Iran.

That the meeting took place was hailed as an achievement by itself. Many point to the fact that it was the first such meeting to take place without foreign sponsorship. But the Lebanese bloggers are yet to be convinced. In fact, they have proven to be a very skeptical and cynical bunch.

Jamal, From Jamal’s Propaganda Site, started his post before the talks had even started with: “Here’s to a failed National Dialogue”. He wrote, in reference to the leaders: “The best thing that could possibly come out of these people is a truce”, and concludes cynically: “But it doesn't matter, unfortunately I think the dialogue will be successful, and we will be told that we can love each other again.”

Zadigvoltaire from Beirut Notes complained that “Even when they talk, the heart of Beirut stops”. He was referring to the draconic security measures that brought Beirut to a standstill.
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Syrian Blogsphere in a week

Yazan Badran · 03:32

A diverse week for the Syrian blogsphere.

To start off with politics, Omar from Earth to Omar has an interesting post citing the major developments in the Middle East in the last 6 years. Noting how the right-wing governments in the west are directly influencing into more radical right-wing governments in the east.

This is where we are right now, and the pattern could not be any clearer. Right wing governments in the west are directly influencing the creation of right wing governments in the east. Western governments don’t like newly elected eastern governments, and hence take oppressive actions against them. Oppressive action leads to terrorism, and we’re back at square one.

Sara takes on the mission of explaining Islam to her western readers answering different controversial questions about it, as this one from her last piece.

Sara, may I ask you a question? Isn't it written somewhere in the Qur'an that it is the duty of a believer to fight the “infidels”, meaning, I suppose, the non-Muslims? How does what you wrote in your last post, go along with that? I am quoting …”Islam calls for equality between all humans, doesn't matter what your race is, what your faith is, what your age and even sex.” One possibility… I understood that all wrong from the beginning on - but that's why I'm asking YOU! Can you help?

Away from Politics and Religion, Ihsan from Bits & Bites of Syria wonders what's that Secret behind the charm of Damascus…

The secret in there and the only special thing is Damascus itself. You may find the noise and the people, the old and the modern parts in many places around the world. You will find lots of bigger and higher mountains than Kassion. But they will never feel as they do in Damascus, you will never sense their spirit as you will in Damascus, you will never miss being away from them as you do when you are away from Damascus.

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