Blogs & Ecology

The crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has flared up once again: 10 years of tension, on-and-off warfare and violence have taken their toll on the population, who are being displaced yet one more time. More than 5 million people have died during this warfare, thousands of women have been raped, and thousands of children have been recruited as children soldiers. On the following videos we bring you calls for action from the DRC citizens pleading with us to take a stand to stop the humanitarian crisis in the DRC.

Le Pangolin [Fr] posts an excerpt from Le Journal du Dimanche on a new provision that would reduce taxes for French companies that invest in developing countries, “especially in Africa.”

According to the excerpt, one logic behind the provision would be to encourage more private investment in the hopes that it could accomplish the results that foreign aid thus far failed to realize.

Le Pangolin discusses a new provision offering tax incentives to French companies who invest in developing countries [Fr] in particular Africa.  

Many bloggers were shocked last week to learn that a young Moroccan man had been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for what seemed like such a minor “crime.” The young man, a Barça (FC Barcelona, a soccer team) fan, allegedly wrote “God, Nation, Barça” on the blackboard at his school. Morocco's motto is “God, Nation, King.”

Although FC Barcelona has already announced [es] they will support the young man and take whatever action is possible, precious little is known about his case.

Laila Lalami offers up information:

Congopages announces the death of Ernest Kombo.  Kombo was Bishop of Owando.  He died in France, where he was being treated for cancer.

Competition between mobile providers Orange and MTN is heating up in Cote D'Ivoire, writes L'observatoire des médias [Fr], who has photos of a new ad campaign.

As the economic crisis continue to worsen, both US presidential candidates, European leaders and heads of international organizations predict that international aid will have to be reduced.

“When the Americans are getting ready to elect a president, the whole world holds its breath,” writes Moroccon blogger, Robin des Blogs [Fr].  It's a sentiment held by many around the world, but some Moroccon netizens aren't sure which outcome–an Obama or a McCain presidency–would be best for Morocco.

Obama, McCain and Western Sahara

RDB writes that the election matters most to “Third World countries that live under Uncle Sam's wing, or worse, rot under the boots of his GIs” and agrees that an Obama win would be a chance for America to make history.

The Blogoma, or Moroccan blogosphere, was buzzing today over news of Moroccan blogger Mohammed Erraji's acquittal. Erraji was arrested last week for writing on his blog that the King or Morocco's charity toward his people encourages them to remain helpless rather than work hard.  Under local media laws, it is illegal to criticize the monarchy.

After months of relative quiet in the Moroccan blogosphere, two incidents have everyone talking. One, of course, is the recent case of Mohammed Erraji. The other is the recent news that a police officer has been shot by a distant member of the royal family. The bloggers tell the story…

Au début était le Blog … introduces the latest news:

Ibn Kafka offers [fr] an inside view of Mohammed Raji's trial, explaining that Raji was not given the opportunity to defend himself, nor was he permitted defense by a lawyer.

Less than a year ago, Global Voices noted Morocco as the “liveliest free speech zone in Muslim North Africa.” It would not be a stretch to say that Morocco ranks among the best for free speech in the entire Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region.

And yet, journalists are all too frequently fined or arrested, and yesterday a blogger, Mohammed Raji, joined their ranks. The blogger was arrested yesterday afternoon for insulting the king, and was immediately tried and sentenced to two years in prison and a fine of MAD 5,000 (about $625). The Moroccan blogosphere, lively as ever, has rallied around Raji.

On Tuesday, Google joined the browser game by launching its very own browser, Chrome, to positive accolades and a bit of controversy. The free browser, which is currently only available for Windows, caused not only a media storm, but a blog storm as well, from nearly every corner of the globe. The Middle East and North African blogosphere, always quick to react to big stories, immediately began buzzing about Chrome yesterday, and haven't stopped since.

The Fans

L'actualite de Cote d'Ivoire writes that twelve people, including the head of Tommy, a local waste processing company, are set to appear before a court in Abidjan later this month; they are charged with “poisoning or conspiracy to poison” for illegally dumping 500 tons of toxic waste.  Tommy was under contract with Trafigura, a Dutch energy company, to process the waste after Trafigura decided it was too expensive to process in Amsterdam.

Théophile Kouamouo [Fr] reviews C'était pas gagné , an autobiography of Ivoirian football star, Didier Drogba.