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Mauritius: Video Montage Honoring Independence Day

Andy Carvin · 16:17

The Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius is a veritable paradise, but is going through hard times due to an outbreak of the mosquito-borne illness, chikungunya. Since the disease has scared away a lot of tourists, Andy Carvin has put together this video montage celebrating the country's 38th anniversary since independence. The five-minute montage features footage taken from all over the island, including its beaches, national parks, Hindu pilgrimage sites and the national dance known as sega.

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The Lebanese Bloggers this week. Pessimism and a sense of foreboding, but life goes on.

Mustapha · 11:12

Last week, I wrote about how the Lebanese bloggers were not optimistic about the outcome from the National dialogue. As if they were sensing trouble, it happened: One of the top politicians in the meeting left the dialogue in mid session and flew to Washington, were he made statements perceived to be hostile by the other party. The dialogue was immediately suspended, to be resumed on Monday. The Lebanese Bloggers were unimpressed with the blame game that ensued and wrote with anger and despair. But they later moved on and started writing about other things.

Zadigvoltair from Beirut Notes opined:

Tensions in Lebanon will remain until the military and political defeat of either Iran or the US in the region. [..] It seems that Nietzche was referring to Lebanon when he said: “Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torments of man”.

The mainstream media also joined the frenzy of distrust and pinning culpability on politicians. Lebanon.Profile from Lebanese Political Journal and Mustapha from The Beirut Spring both noticed an article by an otherwise composed commentator thrashing one of the politicians. Lazarus from Letters Apart highlights the role of the media in sewing distrust among the various parties. He points to a photo one newspaper chose to publish, of US president George W. Bush giving an interview to a Lebanese TV Station. Lazarus noted that the picture is frozen at the exact moment where Mr. Bush was saying “Peace With Israel”, with its accompanying Arabic subtitle.

Raja from The Lebanese Bloggers thinks the Lebanese are Priming themselves. In other words the Lebanese are mentally preparing themselves to fight.

But Raja’s bleak forecast didn’t seem to rub much on other Lebanese bloggers, who are having a “life goes on” attitude. For instance, La La from Land La La posted three pictures that she thinks summarize what it means to be Lebanese.

Kais from Beirut To The Beltway is exploring the freedom to have no religion in Lebanon:

Because personal status matters are controlled by religious courts, intolerant parents can get away with placing legal and moral obstacles in the path of their children.

Jamal from Jamal's Propaganda Site decides to go to the movies but finds out that most of the Oscar nominees are censored:

3 of 5 Movies nominated for the Best picture Oscar will not be shown in Lebanese movie theaters.* One for Homophobia, one for Zionophobia, and one for Islamopyrophobia.

Ad-Libanaises, A blog where most female Lebanese bloggers contribute, wrote an “ode to femininity” on Women’s Day:

…a moment of respect. an ode to femininity. a time to reflect. a call for change. a thought, carefully treasured for you: my mothers, sisters, daughters, friends, virtual friends, working wives, household wives, grocery store ladies, scary childhood dentists, unloved teachers, strangers smiling at me in a crowded street … you, my “ordinary” women, makers of my history, who have shaped me into the woman I am today. To all of you, today I say: thank you.

One blogger, Moussa from Ur Shalim, posted on a very mundane subject that has nothing to do with the national dialogue, but is nevertheless very important: Teaching teachers a lesson.

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Syrian Blogsphere in a week

Yazan Badran · 05:49

The Syrian blogsphere took a very important step this week, launching Syria Planet. The first online portal for All Syrian bloggers. Encouraged by the blogging boom Syria witnessed this last year.

Ayman Hourieh, one of the Administrators of Syria Planet says…

Syria Planet, the community site for Syrian bloggers, is now online, it features an aggregator of member blogs (Syrian or about Syria), and forums for arranging activities and meetings, and discussing what's going on in Syria and the blogosphere, among the other things.

On to politics, this week was very important and busy for Syria. March 8th holds the 43rd anniversary of the Baath Party coup in 1963. Which excites yearly sit-ins and opposition meetings in protest to the One-Party rule since then, and the Emergency Laws enacted since March 9th, 1963.

Ammar Abdulhamid had a roundup of this year's opposition activities…

In London, on the other hand, meetings gave way to a sit-in organized by various local opposition groups in front of the Syrian Embassy in commemoration of the Baath coup of March 8, 1063. A similar affair on the grounds of the University of Damascus was violently crushed by a gang of students affiliated with the country's various security apparatuses. In the process, author Samar Yazbek was bludgeoned into unconsciousness.

Rime Allaf also comments on the occasion, and the long-waited Party Law that's expected to be enacted in the next few months.

The glorious March 8 revolution, celebrated especially by numerous pedantic men sporting March 8 mustaches (and other men trying but failing to grow them), celebrates its 43rd anniversary today. In other words, commiserations are in order for the Syrian people, and for the sad state of the Syrian state. Instead of making way for the new political parties everyone's so excited about, the Baath is digging its heels and waving Article 8 of the constitution in our faces.

Yazan had a bitter post about this topic as well.

43 Years of “Revolution”…

43 years of Emergency Laws.

43 Years of legalized torture.

43 Years of legalized political repression.

43 Years of legalized corruption.

Innocent Criminal posted a harsh critique on the state-run official news agency of Syria (SANA), commenting on its inadequacy and lack of professionalism.

How and why would crap like Arabs Reject Targeting Syria, Sudanese President Advisor Says be your fucking headline? What’s wrong with these morons? This is not an Arabic Syrian daily where toeing the government line blindly is accepted. This is an English media outlet that everyone can read. So why can’t they utilize it to express their point in a semi-intelligent manner instead of wasting digital storage space with this is diarrhea like shit?

Away from politics, Strontium has an interesting post about Celtic knots, with a very valid theory that Syrian architecture in the Hellenistic and Roman periods may be the unknown origin for this style of ornamentation.

Plaitwork, which is a pattern of interwoven unknotted cords, is the earliest known form of knotwork. Plaitwork is not unique to the Celts, examples are found in many cultures. By breaking the plait’s cords and reattaching them, knotwork patterns can be derived. The first examples of this practice can be observed in early 8th century in Italy, but many examples of plaitwork and primitive knots can be found in early Syrian art from Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods.

Finally, a fun post by Bassam on his and others experience in the bureaucracies of the Stationary Centers, and how to cheat your way out of the Military Service.

- One guy has faked a surgical operation of his back for “disc problems” and brought films with him. Apparently his doctor made a skin incision without any additional thing and closed the wound, on purpose of course. He was caught and was handed to investigators.

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Swedish Blogs on “Eastern Europe”

Vilhelm Konnander · 04:10

It is safe to say that the blog scene reflecting “Eastern European” events is quite limited as compared to the “hotter” regions such as the Middle East. As for the many country-specific blogs on “Eastern Europe,” there is even less information to be found. Therefore, I here try to account for Swedish blogs on the region.

One of the most frequently visited blogs is Tobias Ljungvall on Belarus. Ljungvall, a liberal with a deep commitment to freedom and democracy in Belarus, here makes his “observations of political developments in and around the Republic of Belarus.” The blog also advertises Ljungvall's book “Kontoll - Rapport från Vitryssland” (”Control - Report from Belarus”). The blog is updated every Sunday. Needless to say, Ljungvall is not welcome any longer in Belarus under the current Lukashenka regime. All the same, he is probably one of the most well-informed people in Sweden on the situation in Belarus.

Allt om Georgien (in Swedish) is an anonymous blog dedicated to tell “all about Georgia” - as its title indicates - to a Swedish audience. It thus informs about, comments on, and promotes current events in Georgia, and things related to Georgia in Sweden. As for its anonymity, it is no hard guess that Göran Dalin and his lovely Georgian wife Ekaterine are behind this blog. The couple seems to have formed the hub of Georgian community in Sweden during recent years - correct me if I am wrong - and this, I believe, is just another of their ventures. As for the contents, the love and devotion to Georgia is quite apparent in the blog.

I think many of us may recognise familiar things and phenomena on Camilla Bondareva's blog Ad notam (in Swedish). She writes and reflects on everyday life in St. Petersburg and Russia, and many of her texts are illustrated by her own photos. Bondareva is a freelance communication manager. In addition to the texts, the general layout and impression of the blog are very nice.

A Swedish expat in Tajikistan - Erik Petersson - actually has two photo blogs on the region. The reason is simple - he started up in Moscow and then moved on to Dushanbe. The Moscow blog (in Swedish) - Samtidigt, i Moskva - depicts Moscow life with Petersson's own pictures and accompanying comments. His Tajikistan blog (in English) - Dushanbe pictures - is so far simply a photo blog with few comments. The pictures themselves may, however, need no further comment. Some of the black-and-white pictures bear the hallmarks of a professional photographer.

Wictoria Majby - a Swedish Institute teacher in Murmansk - runs the blog Ryska Rövarhistorier (in Swedish). Its Swedish title means “Russian cock-and-bull stories” and that is perhaps more of an ironic ambition than reality. Majby simply writes and reflects on various phenomena of her daily life and chores as a foreigner in the Russian north. Those of us who know her, will find her frequent comments well in tune with her vibrant personality.

A UN intern in Abkhazia - Carl Gustaf Erixon - tells about his experiences during out-of-service time on CG Bloggin' (in Swedish). The blog mainly features his reflections from this conflict-ridden region. He also runs a photo blog - cgerixon's photos - to post pictures, which there is not enough space for on his regular blog.

Then there is Fredrik Nejman's Ukraina-blogg (in Swedish), which forms part of the Swedish Union of Journalists website. The aim of Nejman's blog is to inform about the union's ongoing cooperation with the Ukrainian journalists' trade union. As such, it is somewhat particular to the ongoing project, but that is also its purpose and aim.

Under the pseudonym of “Annabengan,” a Swedish woman serving with the IOM in Albania tells us about her experiences there and elsewhere on her blog Annasblog (part Swedish, part English). She is careful to point this out: “Everything on this website is purely my own thoughts and in no way reflects the policies or thoughts of the organization I'm working for.”

Finally, there are a couple of blogs that are not specifically dedicated to “Eastern Europe” but where one might regularly find comments on the region.

First, there is Andreas's blog, (part English, part Swedish) by a Swedish liberal Andreas Ribbefjord.

Last but not least, mention must be made of former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt's blog - Bildt comments. With his great interest in international affairs, liberal-conservative Bildt every once in a while writes something about Russia and other parts of “Eastern Europe.”

As may have been gathered by now, the Swedish blogosphere on “Eastern Europe” is limited. This is somewhat strange, as there is quite a lot of people in Sweden with an interest in the region. It has apparently so far not resulted in any greater urge to blog on issues related to “Eastern Europe.” A question, however, lingers on: Have I missed something? Is this really the case?

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